Currency Wars

Reviewed by Diario de un Inversor · UpdatedJune 13, 2026

Our review

Currency Wars operates at the intersection of financial analysis and geopolitics, and proves more valuable as an exercise in understanding the international monetary system than as an investment guide. James Rickards argues that competitive devaluations among major powers — the United States, China, the European Union — are not isolated episodes but structural conflicts with clear historical precedents, particularly in the interwar period of the twentieth century. The historical analysis of these cycles is the book's strongest element. Where the work generates most controversy is in its predictions: Rickards advocates for a return to some form of gold standard and a systemic crisis of the dollar that, published in 2011, have not materialised in the terms described. Readers must distinguish between the descriptive analysis — which is rigorous and well-documented — and the normative projections, which reflect an ideological position more than a neutral forecast. Read with that critical filter, the book offers a useful conceptual framework for understanding global monetary tensions that remain relevant today.

Key takeaways

• Currency wars are cyclical phenomena with documented historical precedents, not modern anomalies.
• A country's monetary policy has direct consequences for its exchange rate and the economies of its trading partners.
• The Bretton Woods system and its 1971 collapse are key reference points for understanding the current monetary architecture.
• Systemic collapse predictions warrant scepticism: the book's historical analysis is more reliable than its forward projections.

Fact

Published in 2011, Rickards participated as an advisor in financial warfare simulation exercises organised by the Pentagon and the CIA.