First published 1999
Robert Mankoff examines a fundamental paradox: money powers global systems while simultaneously destroying individual lives. The veteran New Yorker cartoon editor presents visual commentary on how financial forces that keep society functioning also send personal existence into chaos. Through cartoons, Mankoff shows money's dual nature as both stabilizing force and destructive agent. People chase wealth to secure their futures, yet this pursuit often leaves them spinning helplessly or completely derailed from their intended paths. The collection reveals how the same economic mechanisms that maintain order on a macro level create disorder on a personal scale. Mankoff's cartoons capture the absurdity of living within this contradiction, where success and failure often stem from identical financial pressures.
Genres: humor, business, american, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: absurd, insightful, thought-provoking
Tropes: commentary, paradox
Setting: New Yorker
Hardcover · Nicholas Brealey Publishing