Economix

An example bar from Economix, from illustrator Dan E. Burr's website

Essential points: Economix, written by Michael Goodwin and illustrated by Dan E. Burr, explains economics and the economy using lay terminology, clear discussions of real historical events, and, best of all, comics to make this apparently opaque subject engaging and graspable. Written from a U.S. perspective but including many other countries in its grand historical sweep, the text is pleasantly subjective. Goodwin clearly indicates when statements are colored by or entirely drawn from his own opinion, but also refuses to remain neutral or passive, which is refreshing to find in a book on a subject so often treated as a force out of human control. While the book is absolutely a survey, touching only superficially on some of the particular ills caused by economics, it is a rich and accessible explanation of how our economy came to be the way that it is as well as how it might be changed and improved. An aspect of this text that may be offensive to some readers is the caricaturizing style of the comic art, which uses exaggerated stereotypes of various individuals and groups (individuals and groups are caricatured pretty much across the board, regardless of what ethnicity/race/nationality they represent, but still worth giving a head's up).