a long but very thought provoking article
http://theburningplatform.com/economy/21st-century-breakdown
I read about this book on John Mauldin's Investor Insight website...very interesting.
I read this book about a year ago. A powerful analysis of history. It may not be anything more than a structured filter for historic information and is probably less useful as a predictor of the future. Remember that the recent financial crises came about by over reliance of traders on computer models based on a structured filter for historic financial information.
Also, the BurningPlatform version is a long but selective "review" of the book - not the book, but an interpretation of the book (which is an interpretation of history).
Still, reading this is a thought provoking process with much to consider. Much of it has the ring of truth, at least to me. :-\
PS - I asked a friend what he thought we should do to prepare for this. "Get a house back in the woods with as much self-sufficiency as possible." was his advice.
I am back far enough - I think I want to dig deeper now. [waiting]