Understanding the Crash starts with a simple question that still haunts us all: What has happened to the world economy? With the kind of striking precision that only graphic nonfiction can provide, Seth Tobocman and Eric Laursen explain just how we got into this mess — and how we can get out of it.
Looking back across more than a quarter century, the authors outline the roots of our current economic crisis. They show how the troubles of a working-class community in Cleveland or a newly built suburb of Miami became an international financial crisis, explaining the complex new forms of credit that came into being because of financial deregulation, and how they created an economic whirlpool. From there they discuss how, over the same time span, a smaller and smaller group of people came to control a larger and larger percentage of the world’s money — a result of rising inequality that, combined with the shortage of affordable housing, a decline in real wages, and our unwavering belief in an “ownership society,” impelled poor people into debt. Tobocman and Laursen conclude with a consideration of a restructured financial system and a look toward a culture of sustainability — one that covets real wealth in the form of security, meaningful work, and community.
Praise for Understanding the Crash
“Finally, a book on the financial crisis that brings the conversation back to the people most effected by it. For all those who want to better understand the forces behind today’s troubled economy, yet are tired of struggling through incomprehensible, jargon-filled and often tedious analysis, this book is for you. Thanks to Seth Tobocman, Eric Laursen and Jessica Wehrle for this compelling and accessible work.”
—Annie Leonard, author and host, The Story of Stuff
“Understanding the Crash takes a huge step forward in revealing the power of the graphic format. Both history and ideas are clearly and potently expressed here, and in a very engaging fashion. This is an important read.”
—Sid Jacobson, co-author of The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
“In continuity, comics, sequential art, or whatever we care to call this field, we strive to widen the audience we can reach and deepen the understanding we can bring to a topic. Complex subjects benefit particularly from the graphic approach and Understanding the Crash deals with just such a topic, one that has eluded me however many news items I’ve encountered or pored over—until now, that is. Thanks to this lucid, dynamically illustrated graphic treatise, I have a far better grasp of the profound condition effecting our country. Kudos to all involved.”
—Ernie Colón, co-author of The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
