From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

"Buck Out" by Ken Benton
https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Out-Ken-Benton/dp/1514666979/

A singular book, no prequel or sequel, about a financial apocalypse in
the USA. I reread the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand)
trade paperback published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Amazon) in 2015 that I bought from Amazon in 2016. This may be the
third time that I have read this book. If there is a sequel published,
I will purchase it for reading. In fact, if the author publishes
anything else, I will purchase it.

Of all the apocalyptic scenarios facing the USA, I believe a financial apocalypse to be of the highest danger, going from a remote concern in
2017 to an almost certainty in five to ten years. The current debt of
the USA, 39 trillion dollars, is just about one and a half times the USA
GDP. I believe that as the debt of the USA approaches twice the GDP,
the financial stability of the USA will significantly weaken and be
subject to attacks.

The scenario in the book is that China and Japan own 25% of the USA
treasury bills. In a unspecified future date, China decides to sell all
of their USA bonds and notifies Japan that they are going to do so. The Japanese follow the Chinese and the interest rates for the USA bonds
rise from 3% to 23% over a period of six weeks as the bond markets are
flooded and the bond prices drop precipitously. The Dollar, the
effective reserve currency of the world, also drops significantly in
value compared to other currencies. The stock markets in the USA drop
by 85%. The rest of the story is about our protagonists getting out of
New York City and to their retreat in West Virginia.

My rating: 6 out of 5 stars
Amazon: 4.2 out of 5 stars (262 reviews)

Lynn

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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 2026-05-14, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

"Buck Out" by Ken Benton
https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Out-Ken-Benton/dp/1514666979/

A singular book, no prequel or sequel, about
a financial apocalypse in the USA. I reread
the well printed and well bound POD (print on
demand) trade paperback published by CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform (Amazon) in
2015 that I bought from Amazon in 2016. This
may be the third time that I have read this
book. If there is a sequel published, I will
purchase it for reading. In fact, if the author
publishes anything else, I will purchase it.

Of all the apocalyptic scenarios facing the USA,
I believe a financial apocalypse to be of the
highest danger, going from a remote concern
in 2017 to an almost certainty in five to ten
years. The current debt of the USA, 39 trillion
dollars, is just about one and a half times
the USA GDP. I believe that as the debt of the
USA approaches twice the GDP, the financial
stability of the USA will significantly weaken
and be subject to attacks.

The scenario in the book is that China and
Japan own 25% of the USA treasury bills. In a
unspecified future date, China decides to sell
all of their USA bonds and notifies Japan that
they are going to do so. The Japanese follow
the Chinese and the interest rates for the USA
bonds rise from 3% to 23% over a period of six
weeks as the bond markets are flooded and the
bond prices drop precipitously. The Dollar,
the effective reserve currency of the world,
also drops significantly in value compared to
other currencies. The stock markets in the USA
drop by 85%. The rest of the story is about
our protagonists getting out of New York City
and to their retreat in West Virginia.

My rating: 6 out of 5 stars
Amazon: 4.2 out of 5 stars (262 reviews)

If my experience is an accurate barometer, the
species seems on schedule to collapse into mass
madness and violence just before I pass. I don't
know the last straw triggering mechanism, but it
wouldn't take much of a nudge at this point given
the degree and prevalence of stupidity and anger.

It appears to be well-deserved.
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