Economix: How and Why Our Economy Works in Words and Pictures Author: Michael Goodwin | Language: English | ISBN:
0606267301 | Format: PDF
Economix: How and Why Our Economy Works in Words and Pictures Description
Stimulus plans: good or bad? Free markets: How free are they? Jobs: Can we afford them? Occupy Wall Street . . . worldwide!
Everybody's talking about the economy, but how can we, the people, understand what Wall Street or Washington knows--or say they know? Read Economix.
With clear, witty writing and quirky, accessible art, this important and timely graphic novel transforms "the dismal science" of economics into a fun, fact-filled story about human nature and our attempts to make the most of what we've got . . . and sometimes what our neighbors have got. Economix explains it all, from the beginning of Western economic thought, to markets free and otherwise, to economic failures, successes, limitations, and future possibilities. It's the essential, accessible guide to understanding the economy and economic practices. A must-read for every citizen and every voter.
PRAISE FOR ECONOMIX
"Economix is a lively, cheerfully opinionated romp through the historical and intellectual foundations of our current economy and our current economic problems. Goodwin has a knack for distilling complex ideas and events in ways that invite the reader to follow the big picture without losing track of what actually happened. Any reader wondering how our economy got to where it is today will find this a refreshing overview." --Timothy W. Guinnane, Philip Golden Bartlett Professor of Economic History, Yale University
"[Economix] brings a lively visual sensibility to this intensely abstruse subject matter without condescending to the reader or dumbing the ideas down." --MotherJones.com
"This witty and elegant volume takes on a number of complex issues--in this case, economics, history and finance--and makes them comprehensible for mere mortals." --Miami Herald
"It's simply phenomenal. You could read ten books on the subject and not glean as much information." -- David Bach founder of FinishRich Media; author of nine New York Times bestsellers, including Debt Free for Life and The Automatic Millionaire
"Goodwin has done the seemingly impossible--he has made economics comprehensible and funny."--Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power
"An amazing lesson in true-world economics! Delightfully presented, powerful, insightful, and important information! What a fun way to fathom a deep and often dark subject!" --John Perkins, author of Hoodwinked and the New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
"Smart, insightful, clear, and as close to the truth as economics can get. The bonus: Who would have guessed that economics could be fun, and--here's the joy--really accessible? Goodwin roots us in history and fills us with common sense understanding. As he puts it early on, economics seems horribly complicated mostly because we're looking at it all at once. Broken down into its component pieces, it's relatively easy to understand. And a good understanding of economics is critical to maneuvering in the world today. If I were compiling a list of the 100 most important books you can read in a lifetime, this would be on it." --Stephen Petranek, editor-in-chief, Weider History magazines, former editor-in-chief of Discover magazine
"Through a potent mix of comics and punchy, concise, accessible prose, Goodwin takes us on a provocative, exhaustively researched, and exceedingly engaging trip through our history and present day, creating an alternately hilarious and scary picture of where we are today as an economy-- and what it all means. More than that, Goodwin makes the arcane, understandable. If your mind either spins or slumbers at the thought of economics, read Goodwin's Economix and all will become clear. --Nomi Prins, author of It Takes a Pillage: An Epic Tale of Power, Deceit, and Untold Trillions
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
- Library Binding: 304 pages
- Publisher: Turtleback Books; Reprint edition (September 13, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0606267301
- ISBN-13: 978-0606267304
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
What an incredible way to learn about the history of economics. I was skeptical as I began to tiptoe into this book, already thinking I was a lost cause as it related to understanding how money, business, and government worked. But, Economix makes its subject fascinating and understandable. Goodwin somehow makes our history clear and often hilarious, although it's justifiably a tragic humor.
This book has given me clearer understanding of market crashes, communism, the New Deal, laissez-faire, etc. The collaboration between Goodwin and his illustrator, Burr, is solid.
Goodwin expresses his wish for the book to be a foundation for people learning about economics and I can't imagine a stronger one.
By Nate Weida
The author's concept, communicating basic economic theory through a graphic novel is very interesting and creative. It must have been terribly difficult to achieve such a good result in so few pages.
The odd thing about the book is that you whiz from Adam Smith to the 1950's in about 1/2 of the book and then you hit an increasingly political diatribe and the deft talent that the author showed in the first half of the book for quickly describing complicated and difficult topics starts to disappear, replaced by an increasingly tone-deaf one-sided one-size-fits-all philosophy. This is too bad as the author does a VERY nice job of laying out his arguments and would have been considerably more convincing if he had come across as a teacher who has lots of disturbing questions about the official line instead of as a person who knows everything.
In spite of the disappointment at the end, the book earns 4 stars from me for two reasons:
- The first part of the book is solid gold and should be required reading for every high school student
- The author admited that he was going over the edge before he got too far into his arguments. This kind of self-awareness is rare in textbook authors and I encourage more to emulate the author's confidence and sense of humor
By Paul O'Connor
VINE VOICE
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