Understanding the Crash, by Seth Tobocman, Eric Laursen, and Jessica Wehrle (2010)

Tobocman is about as radical an artist working in comics as you can get, writing books with names like You Don’t Have to Fuck People Over to Survive. Here, he exposes the infamous housing bubble, and together with Laursen & Wehrle explains in simple, accessible language accompanied by stark, memorable graphics just why it happened, who benefited, and what we can all do about it. Even if you’re the sort of person who obsessively follows economics blogs and podcasts like I am, it’s still worth reading for the clear, detailed explanations, and inspirational stories from the front lines of the debt crisis. It’s hard to be both honest and optimistic on this topic, but this book pulls it off by both making you mad and leaving you cautiously hopeful.