HOW TO PROSPER IN THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY: A Completely Legal Guide to the Hidden, Multibillion-Dollar Cash Economy

The monetary sky is falling, begins financial adviser Burkett, honoring the inevitable parallel to Weimar Germany. And the avuncular author proceeds to instruct acolytes on methods of surviving, if not exactly prospering, through the coming debacle. His ""underground economy"" need hold no fears for anyone. Though his notions on barter may not quite coincide with those of the IRS, the advice (""actually used,"" we are told, ""by some of the ancient Hebrews"") is generally benign. First, maintain a modest cache of food and supplies--say three months' worth of canned tuna. Then establish a ""crisis budget"" and get out of debt. Next, plug into an alternative job market with a yeomanly skill--woodworking for financial survival, perhaps. You should also join in a wider ""economic support community"" of like-minded souls, maybe even shopping for ""'closeout' meats on Mondays"" for the group. Finally, shape up your investments to withstand the probable breakdown. While ""there is always the possibility that there won't be a total collapse,"" the exercise will do you good in any event, says Burkett. Truth to tell, there's not much basically wrong with most of his homespun precautions, unless your taste is for weightier investment and tax sophistication. (The ""tax laws exist for our benefit,"" he says.) Burkett's precepts are embellished with lots of Biblical quotations and an occasional nod to Tocqueville as well as Solomon. No counterculture handbook or extralegal investment advice--just a hortatory, old-school combination of prudence and resourcefulness.