all the issues we've been hearing in the news recently are provided in plain, easy-to-follow explanations with sketches that bring the problems to life. The last few chapters cover topics like the S&L mess, the Internet bubble, the AIG bailout, and many more.

I found myself many times going to Google to verify a particular decision made by one president or the other – and my view on so many presidents (well, pretty much all of them) has changed drastically. And the book does an excellent job of explaining those bad decisions.

Again, the book doesn't take a political position one way or the other – Democrats and Republicans are equally skewered for their bad decisions. And then the book begins to move into the more recognizable figures such as Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Obama. maybe even centuries after a particular economic period has passed. On one very interesting and very accurate page, the author points out how economic assessments seem to only make sense years, decades. Burr encourage readers to check the facts – while Goodwin does insert himself into the comic book in certain places to offer up his own opinion or understanding of the topic being covered, it's not frequent enough to feel that the book is simply his take on the subject.)Īnd Goodwin doesn't shy away from controversy – I was glad to see that he spared no politician from a frank and honest assessment. (And by the way, author Michael Goodwin and illustrator Dan.

And the little bit of history I was taught in school didn't give me the big picture about early 20th century robber barons and titans of industry and the presidents who were more often than not hindering rather than helping their country by either bad decisions or complete indecision. I always thought I understood the gold standard, but I REALLY understand it now. This is a book that moves way beyond the simple Supply/Demand model that every kid is taught and gets into the nitty-gritty stuff behind the creation of financial organizations such as the World Bank, the Social Security Administration, and the Federal Reserve. I gained valuable insight into key decisions made by US presidents, understood better the real causes behind a few wars, and my mind began to grasp the larger picture that doesn't just include the US economy, but the world's. And I have to admit that I let my statistics skills slip since college, so the Manga Guide to Statistics was pretty slick!įor me, I absolutely loved the build-up that explained why some countries prospered while other countries suffered due to decisions made by their leaders. If you're familiar with the Manga Guides from No Starch, you should definitely check them out! I've read most of them, and I absolutely loved the Manga Guide to Physics and the Manga Guide to Relativity. It would be almost three decades later before I'd discover that given the right artist, writer, and subject matter, comics could indeed be useful for making complex topics more enjoyable, and easier to understand. (Anyone else remember those in comic book form?) There were a few comic books that were a bit more entertaining, such as versions of classics like War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, but those were rare and usually frowned upon by the librarian or teacher. It was in the seventh grade, it was about the Civil War, and it was as boring and bland as any history book I'd ever encountered. I remember the first time I read a comic book whose purpose was to teach and entertain.

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