· 2022
“Vice Versa mischievously turns the 2020 election upside down. With his sharp wit and fast-paced dialogue, Goodwin’s portrayal of partisan American politics will cause the reader to both laugh out loud and maybe quietly mourn.” —William Smith, PhD, author of Democracy and Imperialism Vice Versa offers an incisive and funny send up of the 2020 presidential election. Goodwin is tough on both sides of the political spectrum. And by making us smile, he also shows a way out of our divisive politics. —Nadia Schadlow, Former White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy, Sr. Fellow The Hudson Institute and author, War and the Art of Governance: Consolidating Combat Success Into Political Victory Michael Goodwin has adopted an understated but commendable style of writing with Vice Versa. There is no slapstick comedy here, simply a well-written account where the ironies of American politics are subtly portrayed, but nevertheless in a bold and hard-hitting manner. Vice Versa exposes the ugly side of politics, from the informants, lobbyists, leaks to the press, disinformation, abuse of social media, and divided loyalties, to the bribery and corruption over campaign funding. —Reviewed by Leonard William Smuts for Readers' Favorite Imagine if the 2020 presidential election were the mirror image of 2016, as the Biden campaign is accused of receiving aid from the People's Republic of China. In this alternative universe, the media is mostly pro-Trump and the FBI rife with MAGA supporters. Gary Wang, a low-level Biden staffer, somehow becomes the center of the maelstrom and is pursued by the media, politicians, and the FBI. Vice Versa is a satirical take on the comedy and tragedy of current American media and politics.
When Vultures Dance follows Seth Farragut, a young hedge fund manager, as his drive to take over a bankrupt auto supplier leads to an indictment for insider trading. A "vulture" investor who excels at highstakes trading of distressed companies' securities, he makes decisions that all too easily cost others their jobs and create plenty of enemies. Under the influence of tough, attractive Lauren Hayward, he bets everything on the survival of a small Chicago manufacturing company that could, if he can rescue it, be his career-making score. But his quest spawns an attempted murder, suicide, and the prospect of years in prison. Seth is more than a Type-A, fast trading up-and-comer. He is a loner who increasingly questions what he does for a living after seeing first-hand the consequences of his actions. He finally meets someone who opens him up to love and a life beyond trading and money. Meanwhile, in the background, Wall Street is in turmoil as the economy tumbles. When Vultures Dance explores themes that are all over today's news: the growing divide between the haves and have-nots, the rule of capitalists over the shrinking blue collar work force, and the stupendous wealth accumulation by a very few. Goodwin's eye for detail brings the headlines to life.
· 2012
Economix is an essential and accessible guide to understanding the economy and economic practices. This New York Times bestseller is a must-read for every citizen and every voter. 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. Economix explains it all, from the beginning of Western economic thought; to markets free and otherwise; to economic failures, successes, limitations, and future possibilities. Everybody’s talking about the economy, but how can we, the people, make sense of what Wall Street or Washington say they know? Read the New York Times bestselling Economix, from author Michael Goodwin and illustrator Dan E. Burr. “Goodwin brilliantly contextualizes economic theories with historical narrative, while Burr’s simple but elegant illustration employs classical techniques like caricaturing politicians and symbolizing big businesses (as a gleeful factory) to help the reader visualize difficult concepts.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “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 “Michael Goodwin hasn’t just written a great graphic novel—he’s written one that should be required for every school, newsroom, and library in the United States.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
· 2016
" Goodwin has surprising sensitivity and wisdom that is unusual in such a young poet." - Charlotte Gordon ( Author of Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley)
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· 2003
Martin Stallworth is a black man trying to make it on Wall Street. As a junk bond salesman with the investment bank Whorman Skeller & Co., he has a chance to prove his worth when the firm plans to launch a major high yield bond deal for a satellite communications company called Lodestar. Because Lodestar has important connections to the US Department of Defense, Martin and the other junk bond salespersons know their jobs are on the line if they don't sell the deal. Their desperation to do so leads to an act of espionage and murder. Martin somehow finds himself as the accused perpetrator of both. Both the cops and a gang of Chinese thugs under the command of a rogue hedge fund trader are hot on his trail. Junk combines a satirical send-up of a typical investment bank with elements of a fast-paced thriller. While the narrative action is riveting, Goodwin's characterizations and descriptive writing attain the level of serious literary fiction.
An unauthorized biography of Francis Coppola.
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· 2012
A guide to the economy in graphic novel format traces the history of Western economic thought from its beginnings to the world economy in the twenty-first century.
George Eastwood is a fifty-two year old, middle-aged man, husband and proud father of two grown children. George has been brought up within the old traditional values of working hard for a living and getting on with life, no matter what it may throw at you. The problem is life is not being very kind to him at the moment: he is getting older, out of work and the demands of family life are pushing him to the edge of despair. He feels anxious and depressed and cant seem to look forward to anything that can make him feel better. Then, one day, he finds himself on his way to a job interview with a promise that it could be just what he needs to turn his life around. As he rushes to cross the busy road to catch his train, he is helplessly hacked down by a speeding car driven by a seventeen year old drop-out. Georges story continues as he wakes up in strange surroundings: an old Library containing the knowledge of the universe. It is within this place of no time but all time that he looks around believing he is dead but yet not dead . . . and then the strangest of occurrences takes place. He is confronted by a voice that speaks to him of his true destiny; a voice that gives reason to a world that has become confused and lost within the false identity that has created it. He is astounded as a friendship is pulled together, and the big fundamental questions of who we truly are and our purpose upon the earth are revealed to him in a series of conversations and reflections that lead him towards peace, forgiveness, the relinquishment of fear and finally to know that life can be happy on the earth plane, when the false self that has held us tightly in its grip for thousands of years is finally released. George is fascinated by the voice that holds all the answers to a freedom that has been long lost, but, even more astonished to know that the voice is his own . . . . . his own true self.