Red Alert

How China's Growing Prosperity Threatens the American Way of Life

By: Stephen Leeb, Gregory Dorsey

Narrated by: Brian Bascle

The American Dream is close to being replaced by a living nightmare:

• Key commodities that are essential to our daily lives and that are widely believed to be abundant are running critically short. Even worse, the Chinese are doing what they can to monopolize the world's dwindling resources.
• The U.S. is now largely dependent on our greatest economic rival for rare earth elements as well as a host of other minerals - all of which are absolutely essential to the development of alternative energies and are critically important for our defense industry, computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
• While America has been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, China has focused its substantial muscle on securing vital commodities from these and other lands to upgrade its infrastructure and industrial strength to meet the resource challenge head-on.
• China has wrapped itself in the green flag of combating climate change while systematically discouraging other nations from adopting similar policies in a bid to gain time to achieve its plans.

Red Alert is a provocative and frightening look at the growing political, economic, and social power of China and the threat that nation poses to the Western world. It lays out how the Chinese are strategizing to overtake the United States as the world's premier economic power - and details how our failure to respond quickly will result in a permanently lower standard of living for Americans. Peppered with startling statistics, charts, and evidence of how China continues to expand its economic reach, Red Alert is both controversial and powerful in its scope.

©2011 Stephen Leeb, Gregory Dorsey (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"I would caution readers to dismiss Stephen Leeb's warnings only at their peril." (Thomas Kaplan, chairman, Tigris Financial Group)

Scary!

The last book I read was Mao : The Unknown Story, this is almost as scary. I recommend you listen to it. Would have been nice to have a few more facts about Chinas current finantial situation, but I guess this book is focusing on the long term 5/10/20 years.

Very interesting

I'm an idiot to numbers... But this book goes beyond that and the message is so powerful that makes it very clear for anyone

Resource scarcity, energy, infrastr. and economics

Any additional comments?

It's nice to see a book from the economics perspective that deals and takes seriously issues like peak oil and other resource-scarcity, with a healthy dose of actual numbers (ie the hopelessness) of energy-infrastructure rebuilding and so forth. For me, this background was more interesting than the

8 Hours to Make Only One Great Point

The argument that China is seeking to control many natural resources and commodities is a great and original argument for main stream media. But that???s it. What can be summarized in one single sentence is expanded to fill a whopping 7 hours and 40 minutes of repetition and monotony. Who knew copper was so important and that China can use near complete control of the market to punish its enemies? I did after about the first hour and then again and again at least once an hour after.

Excellent Book

If you could sum up Red Alert in three words, what would they be?

China seeks a global monopoly in rare earth minerals to secure economic hegemony.

What was most disappointing about Stephen Leeb and Gregory Dorsey ’s story?

The book could be better organized. As well, much of its stems from research by Australian and US academics in the field of strategic trade theory. Although their logic appears sound, at first blush, they are not examining the deep economic costs and risks of China's position.

Did Brian Bascle do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was a drawn out magazine article not a book.

Very insightful!

What made the experience of listening to Red Alert the most enjoyable?

All claims has been supported by facts and statistics.

Who was your favorite character and why?

~NA~

Which character – as performed by Brian Bascle – was your favorite?

~NA~

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

More alarmed than scared.

Any additional comments?

America, wake up, we are quickly relinquishing our status as the greatest nation on the planet to China. Stop the bickering and start concentrating in the real issue and fix the problems ASAP.

Great book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

well documented make your analysis and you will find out that nothing is extrapolated.

Be aware to fully understand the whole yo need to have more than some backgrounds a lot of reading and some engineering or finical skills in commodities.

What did you like best about this story?

documentation perspective

If you could give Red Alert a new subtitle, what would it be?

The Rise of China : A better vision

Any additional comments?

I have start learn Mandarin

things i love about this book

What disappointed you about Red Alert?

I like the way the authors completely misquote Ray Kurzweil, implying that he has stated that computers have already reached human intelligence, when in fact Mr. Kurzweil has repeatedly stated that its is coming closer to the year 2045. I also very much enjoyed, how the aurthors’ dismissively reduce computer comprehension to mere calculations, whist at once elevating our chemical computers (ie. our brains) to something more ephemeral. I would have completed listening to this audio book, however i have upon reflection decided that rubing my face on sandpaper, would be a far more enjoyable sensation. In short i feel that this book reflects best of all on the publishers and their total lack of fact checkers.

What do you think your next listen will be?

hopefully something that is in the nonfiction category that is in fact not fiction

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Brian Bascle?

all of the actors who read your books are fantastic and clearly my grievance is not with them

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

it have wonderful flow

Propaganda

Would you try another book from Stephen Leeb and Gregory Dorsey and/or Brian Bascle?

No

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephen Leeb and Gregory Dorsey again?

No

Which character – as performed by Brian Bascle – was your favorite?

None

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The narration was good.

Any additional comments?

A terrible propaganda piece against China. Seems to me very irrational. A select few ideas in the book may have some truth to them though, such as rising commodity prices.