[320] in libertarians
Laissez Faire Book News: INVESTMENT BIKER
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris Whitten)
Wed Oct 19 20:51:51 1994
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 20:45:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chris Whitten <lfb@panix.com>
Apparently-To: <libertarians@mit.edu>
Absolutely extraordinary adventure of a lifetime--
Famed investment wizard Jim Rogers' phenomenal eyewitness view of
government empires crumbling and liberty arising around the world
INVESTMENT BIKER
by Jim Rogers
(reviewed by Jim Powell)
Imagine being able to travel around the world and see evil
government empires crumbling before your eyes. Imagine
witnessing the heroic rebirth of liberty on every continent.
Imagine seeing many of the most spectacular wonders the earth has
to offer.
Alabama-born investment superstar Jim Rogers saw it all when
he and his companion Tabitha Estabrook dared to motorcycle their
way around the world starting in March 1990. They set out in
Ireland, crossed Europe, Moslem Central Asia, China, travelled in
Japan, then returned across Asia via Siberia. They motorcycled
around Australia. They went from Tunisia to South Africa, from
the southern-most point in Argentina through South America,
Central America and finally back across the United States. Their
incredible exploits are chronicled in this fabulous thriller. I
burned my fingers turning the pages, and I look forward to
reading the book again.
The duo braved awesome obstacles. For example, getting
their BMW cycles serviced: there wasn't a dealer for the 6,000
miles between Istanbul and Tokyo, a perilous stretch where they
endured plenty of mechanical problems. Rogers and Estabrook
churned their way along the world's roughest roads in Siberia and
were hammered by hailstorms there. They motorcycled across the
2,000-mile-long Sahara desert, littered with broken-down
vehicles. In tropical Africa, they worried about dangerous
diseases, poisonous animals and carnivores.
Everywhere, Rogers and Estabrook witnessed the evil of
government. They saw wretched people suffering from
government-induced shortages of jobs, food, medicine and other
essentials. In South America, they saw the consequences of
corruption and violence resulting from U.S. drug prohibition.
Rogers and Estabrook had to allow a full day for crossing almost
every nation's border because of chronically corrupt, inefficient
customs bureaucrats. In Zaire, corrupt police seized their
passports and extorted a couple thousand dollars worth of
payoffs. In Costa Rica, police tried to plant drugs on their
bikes. Rogers and Estabrook risked death because they weren't
able to avoid driving through countries embroiled in civil war,
like El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. They had a brush with
death when they confronted Peruvian Shining Path (communist)
guerrillas who routinely murder foreigners--especially Americans.
Rogers offers shrewd advice for dealing with venal
government officials and other threats. He explains why it can
make a huge difference where you choose to cross a border... how
best to hide your money... how to change money safely in a black
market... how to liberate yourself by discreetly offering a
bribe... how to get what you need despite government controls and
shortages... how a woman should use finesse to avoid danger,
whether from macho Moslems, lusting police or armed terrorists.
The book abounds with Rogers' dramatic eyewitness account of
crumbling government empires. After he explains how they skidded
on oil-streaked roads throughout Eastern Europe, he quips: "all
communist cars leak oil." They saw the long-feared industrial
heartland of the former Soviet Union, which turned out to be a
vast junkyard of decrepit oil rigs and broken down missile
launchers. Rogers tells how Chinese soldiers routinely
disregarded official policies--something that would have been
unthinkable in the heyday of Chairman Mao. Rogers and Estabrook
saw how the Central African Republic University, financed by
French foreign aid boodle, had become a shocking ruin within just
20 years. During the late 1970s, Zimbabwe had expropriated
prosperous white-owned farms and handed them over to political
cronies, but as Rogers and Estabrook saw, these were now
abandoned.
On every continent, they found heartening signs which
confirm the resurgence of human liberty. Rogers tells how, in
former Soviet Georgia, black markets provided a precious
sanctuary for people. He talks about thriving free markets in
southern communist China. He reports the wonders in Botswana, a
prosperous land of liberty amidst the carnage of central Africa.
Rogers tells how he and Estabrook saw New Zealanders turn away
from suffocating socialism... how in northern Australia's city of
Darwin, they saw entrepreneurial people from all over Asia
creating a fabulous boom... how the revival of free markets led
to political freedom in Chile, now South America's most
prosperous country.
Finally, Rogers offers provocative reflections on the
history of liberty and civilization as he and Estabrook visit
ancient cities of the Incas... the massive, mysterious stone
volcanic sculptures on Easter Island... the north African domain
of the Phoenicians, ancient seafaring merchants who invented the
alphabet. There's much, much more in this dramatic and inspiring
tale.
Book No. IV6157 (hardcover) 402p. publisher's price $25.00
LAISSEZ FAIRE PRICE ONLY $21.95
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Thank you,
Chris
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Chris Whitten lfb@panix.com
Laissez Faire Books 1-800-326-0996
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