While the book is essentially a collection of Krugman's New York Times columns, I found it very valuable for seeing how various stories unfolded, from the growing awareness that California's energy crisis was in fact engineered by Enron traders "gaming" the system to the deceitful manner in which the Bush adminstration lured the country into the misguided and tragic war in Iraq.

But more than anything, this book is not to be missed because of Krugman's excellent introduction, in which he explains how the Bush administration constitutes (in Henry Kissinger's term) a "revolutionary power" that will brook no compromise and will do anything (issue bogus terror alerts, out CIA agents, knowingly lie to the American public, etc.) to maintain and extend its power and ram its extremist agenda down our throats.

The Great Unraveling is a much-needed wakeup call for the American public and an urgent and timely warning of the dangers the Bush administration poses to our cherished democracy.

What I got was a bunch of op-ed pieces but when taken in context of one followed by the other, followed by the other, it gives a great detailed account of where this country is going economically. Scary stuff let me tell you.

So I read it, with an open mind, yet skeptical that one book could sway me.

It is trash. And, as it turns out, I had already read the entire book in its many pieces.

First off, it is shallow. Because it is essentially just a collection of old op-eds, there is no depth, no real substance. If you want the gist of this book, just go to the NYT archive and pull up a few of his op-eds.

Which brings me to my second point, that it is repetitive. The op-eds are hollow and short, yet some of them cover almost the same ideas. If you've read one on a particular subject, you've read them all. My advice for Mr. Krugman: either elaborate or go to a new subject, por favor. Thanks.

Third, Krugman contradicts himself over and over. For example, his paranoid belief that President Bush wants to de-fund the government and take away the social safety net secured by FDR doesn't jive with his bemoaning of the deficits (and blaming them solely on Bush, nothing else) we now face.

Fourth, the guy just seems angry. I guess some Americans share his anger, and if you are angry and pessimistic about life and our country, this is the book for you, but he just is such a vindictive and bitter writer that it is hard to take him seriously.

Fifth, along those same lines, his hyperbole makes him not very credible. He seems to believe the worst about the direction of the country and the leadership of the Bush administration, no matter what he is talking about. Even good news becomes bad news to Paul Krugman.

If you are a moderate, you will be repulsed and repelled, as I was. If you are a conservative, you will probably become energized to fight against it. If you are a liberal (or just anti-Bush), this probably won't enlighten you or give you anything new to use at happy hour or around the water cooler, but it will, in a rather shallow way, reinforce your anger and resolve to oust Bush (notice, I didn't even say it would reinforce your ideology or positions or beliefs, because it likely will not).