The Coming Economic Earthquake. By Larry Burkett. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 230 pp. Paper, $15.26.

What would you do if the U.S. Government declared bankruptcy because the interest on the budget deficit equaled the Gross National Product and our country could no longer pay its bills? What if the Stock Market crashed and all U.S. banks failed, wiping out all your personal assets? If this tragic scenario unfolded, would your family survive the economic catastrophe and its aftermath? Would your children have a financial future?

By changing the little word “if” to “when” in the above paragraph, Christian economist, Larry Burkett, answers these and other questions directly and clearly in his new book, The Coming Economic Earthquake. Burkett is perhaps best known for his daily broadcasts on economic principles heard on hundreds of Christian radio stations throughout the United States and other countries.

Burkett’s major premise is that the United States is headed for a terrible day of reckoning because of uncontrolled government spending and irrational borrowing. His real purpose in writing is to inform and warn Christians to be prepared before it happens.

This book is sensational without being sensationalistic. Written for a popular audience, the book brings a potentially technical and difficult subject within reach of most adults. Although one could wish for more documentation and a subject index, there are helpful appendixes and addresses to write to for more information.

Whether or not one agrees with Burkett’s conclusions, it is difficult to disagree with the warning signs he identifies in the U.S. economy. Many secular economists are making the same predictions. Even if the “earthquake” of the title never comes, the author’s financial advice to Christian individuals and families is helpful and healthy preventive medicine in the best of times.

Frank D. Carmical
Evangelist/Church Planter
Harvester Ministries, Inc.
Plano, TX