BOOK REVIEW: THE AGE OF ANOMALY Spotting Financial Storms in a Sea of Uncertainty by Andrei Polgar (2018)
Book Reviewed by Patrick Blair on March 4, 2019
First Impression Versus Lasting Impression: I expected a detailed account of how our world is on the precipice of financial disaster. The book, however, spends most of its time analyzing modern investments and past financial anomalies like the Tulip Mania, Weimar Germany hyperinflation, and Great Depression. I was surprised by the author’s reluctance to make current financial forecasts.
The Book in a Word: ENLIGHTENING.
Summary: The author, economist Andrei Polgar, painstakingly analyzes historical financial anomalies and gives modern investing options that could help you prepare for financial anomalies today.
What I Liked the Most: was the book’s central theme that it is impossible to forecast the future (despite analyzing the past and having lots of information). Albeit frustrating, the author refuses to make modern forecasts and insists that the reader absorb all information and make their own decisions. Rather than making his book compelling by forecasting doom and tapping into fear, Polgar condemns other commentators who do that.
What I Liked the Least: was the length and repetitiveness of the book. Although the author insists he needed 400+ pages to get his message across, I believe it could have been done with about half as many pages.
Recommended for: those looking to gain a deeper understanding of historical financial disasters and how that might shed light on today’s environment. The book also features many investment ideas and specific analysis on how those investments might fit into your investment plan.
Not Recommended for: investment beginners or those seeking doomsday entertainment.
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Reading Level: Basic … Intermediate … Advanced … Scholarly.
Interesting Concept: (this is Patrick Blair’s take away from the main idea of the book) There is so much wrong with today’s global financial picture and numerous facts support that conclusion. Yet, the world economy is too complex and the interplay of its events too unpredictable to draw any definitive conclusions about how, when, or if it will collapse. Therefore, even if you are fearful of impending financial disasters, you still should be measured about how you position your life and finances. You still need to “prepare” for the continuation of the global economy as is, spending only a little time and money insuring against catastrophic outcomes. On the other hand, it would be foolish to not insure against potentially catastrophic outcomes.
Great Quotes: “The average individual is starting to notice that ‘something’ is just not right. Now most of them cannot accurately pinpoint what the problem is but they do have this spooky feeling deep down inside that something is just waiting to blow. If you start educating yourself in an attempt to find out what’s happening, you’ll quickly realize there’s an overwhelming amount of information to digest. Most of it is noise.” (p. 5).
Spiritual Content: None, although Polgar’s general thesis agrees with the Bible in that diversification is the method in which to prepare for inevitable disasters. I discuss many similar concepts that The Age of Anomaly does in my book Faith & Finances.
Book Citation: Polgar, Andrei. The Age of Anomaly: Spotting Financial Storms in a Sea of Uncertainty. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
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