BOOKS
Published
Read Time
8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.7
· 1,376 Amazon ratingsShare This Review
How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff Review: Austrian Economics Made Accessible Through Allegory
A New York Times bestseller and 2010 getAbstract International Book Award winner, How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes is an illustrated allegorical book in which Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff use humor, cartoons, and fictitious storytelling to explain inflation, deficit spending, central banking, international trade, and the 2008 financial crisis through a distinctly Austrian economics lens — arguing that production and savings, not consumption and inflation, are the true engines of prosperity.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
General readers — especially curious newcomers, students seeking a counterpoint to mainstream economics curricula, and anyone who emerged from the 2008 financial crisis wanting a plain-language, illustrated explanation of what went wrong — who want an accessible entry point into Austrian economic thinking without wading through academic texts.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want a clearly argued, visually engaging introduction to Austrian economics — covering production, savings, deflation, and the mechanics of the 2008 crisis — told through allegory and humor rather than academic argument.
Skip if
Skip it if you're looking for a balanced survey of macroeconomic schools of thought, or if you find that the cartoon-and-fable format's necessary simplification underserves the real complexity of monetary policy and financial regulation.
What readers & critics say
Wikipedia notes the book was a 2010 getAbstract International Book Award winner and a New York Times bestseller, with the Washington Times praising how it conveys economic ideas "through an engaging, fictitious story richly illustrated with amusing cartoons." The Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org) highlights that Schiff and his brother bypass the academic crowd with "an amalgam of allegorical storytelling and current events" aimed at promoting genuine economic comprehension.
Sources: Wikipedia, Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org)4.7from 1,376 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Argues
- The Austrian Economics Framework
- Format, Strengths, and Reception
- Limitations and Who May Be Frustrated
- Who This Book Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- New York Times bestseller and 2010 getAbstract International Book Award winner, demonstrating broad readership and recognized merit
- Uses allegory, humor, and cartoons to make complex topics — inflation, deficit spending, central banking, and the 2008 financial crisis — accessible to general readers
- Presents a coherent, clearly argued Austrian economics framework across three core principles: production over consumption, savings over spending, and deflation over inflation
- Builds on a notable intellectual lineage, updating Irwin Schiff's foundational 'economic comic book' for contemporary issues
- Covers a wide range of interconnected economic topics — capital formation, international trade, monetary policy, and financial crisis — in a single volume
What Doesn't
- The allegorical framework is built to support Austrian economics conclusions, offering little balanced engagement with competing schools of thought such as Keynesian economics
- The cartoon-and-fable structure, while accessible, necessarily simplifies the complexity of real-world monetary policy and financial regulation
A New York Times bestseller and 2010 getAbstract International Book Award winner, this illustrated book delivers Austrian economic theory through allegory and humor rather than academic argument.
What the Book Is and What It Argues
Published by Wiley in May 2010, How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes is an illustrated economics book by brothers Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff. Rather than presenting a dry policy treatise, the book constructs a fictitious allegorical story — complete with cartoons — to walk readers through the mechanics of economic growth and collapse. Its intellectual lineage is explicit: the book is directly inspired by How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't, an earlier "economic comic book" by the brothers' father, Irwin Schiff, a widely published economist and activist. The Schiffs incorporate the spirit of that original work while updating it to address the issues most pressing in 2010, including the housing bubble and the financial crisis of 2008.
“the often intuitive ideas of economics through an engaging, fictitious story richly illustrated with amusing cartoons.”
The Austrian Economics Framework
The book's arguments are grounded firmly in Austrian economic theory, and it advances three core claims with consistent conviction. First, the authors contend that production — not consumption — is the fundamental driver of economic growth. Second, they argue that saving, rather than increased spending, is what improves a deteriorating economic situation. Third, they make the case that deflation, not inflation, is compatible with genuine prosperity, directly challenging the prevailing Keynesian and monetarist orthodoxies that dominated policy conversations at the time of publication. Peter Schiff, the bestselling author of Crash Proof and Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse, brings to the collaboration what promotional materials describe as a "take no prisoners" approach to exposing what the authors regard as entrenched economic fallacies. Readers already sympathetic to free-market and sound-money principles will find the book a thorough articulation of those positions; readers who hold different economic views will encounter them argued without equivocation.
Format, Strengths, and Reception
The book's defining feature is its use of allegory, illustration, and humor as pedagogical tools. The Washington Times noted that the book conveys "the often intuitive ideas of economics through an engaging, fictitious story richly illustrated with amusing cartoons." This format is designed to make concepts such as capital formation, risk, deficit spending, and central banking accessible to general readers — the book is structured to explain ideas that can intimidate newcomers without requiring prior economic training. It covers a wide range of topics: the creation of capital assets, the nature of return and consumption, the mechanics of international trade, and the specific dynamics of the 2008 financial crisis. The getAbstract International Book Award in 2010 and its placement on the New York Times bestseller list confirm that the book found a broad and receptive audience well beyond specialist circles.
Limitations and Who May Be Frustrated
The book's greatest strength — its ideological clarity — is also the source of its most consistent criticism. Because the allegorical framework is built to illustrate Austrian economic conclusions, the narrative is not designed to present competing schools of thought in a balanced way. Readers seeking a survey of macroeconomic perspectives, or those who approach the 2008 crisis from Keynesian or institutional frameworks, will find the book argumentative rather than neutral. The allegorical format, while accessible, also means that the complexity of real-world monetary policy and financial regulation is necessarily simplified to fit the story. Some readers comfortable with economic nuance may find that the cartoon-and-fable structure, while effective for its intended audience, underserves the full texture of the topics it covers.
Who This Book Is For
How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes is squarely aimed at general readers who want an introduction to economics — particularly the Austrian tradition — without wading through academic texts. Its illustrated, story-driven format makes it well-suited to curious newcomers, students looking for a counterpoint to mainstream economic curricula, and anyone who emerged from the 2008 financial crisis wanting a plain-language explanation of what went wrong and why. For readers already versed in Austrian economics or familiar with Peter Schiff's prior work, the book functions as a compelling and visually engaging popularization of ideas he has long championed. It is not a reference work or a neutral overview; it is an accessible, opinionated argument for a specific way of understanding how economies rise and fall.
Frequently Asked Questions
is How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff worth reading if i know nothing about economics
Yes — the book is specifically designed for general readers with no prior economic training, using an allegorical story and cartoons to make concepts like capital formation, deficit spending, and central banking accessible. The Washington Times noted it conveys "the often intuitive ideas of economics through an engaging, fictitious story richly illustrated with amusing cartoons," so curious newcomers are very much the target audience. That said, the story is built to illustrate Austrian economic conclusions, so you're getting one school of thought presented engagingly, not a neutral survey.
What is this book actually about
At its core, the book argues three things through an illustrated allegorical fable: that production — not consumption — drives economic growth, that saving rather than spending fixes a deteriorating economy, and that deflation is compatible with genuine prosperity. Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff use that fictional story to walk readers through inflation, deficit spending, international trade, and the specific dynamics of the 2008 financial crisis — all through a distinctly Austrian economics lens. The book is directly inspired by their father Irwin Schiff's earlier "economic comic book," How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't, updated here to address the housing bubble and 2008 crash.
Is this book biased or one-sided
Honestly, yes — and the review is upfront about it. The allegorical framework is built to illustrate Austrian economic conclusions, so competing schools of thought like Keynesian or institutional economics are not presented in a balanced way. Peter Schiff is described as bringing a "take no prisoners" approach to exposing what the authors regard as entrenched economic fallacies, so readers who approach the 2008 crisis from different frameworks will find the book argumentative rather than neutral.
Is this book good for students
It works especially well for students looking for a counterpoint to mainstream economic curricula, since it presents Austrian economic theory in an accessible, story-driven format without requiring academic background. The book covers a solid range of topics — capital formation, central banking, international trade, and the 2008 financial crisis — so it can serve as an introduction to ideas rarely emphasized in standard courses. Just go in knowing it's an opinionated argument for a specific way of understanding economies, not a textbook covering multiple perspectives.
How is this book different from peter schiff's other books like crash proof
Where Crash Proof and Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse are aimed at giving readers practical financial strategies, How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes takes a more foundational and educational approach — explaining the underlying economic theory through a fictitious allegorical story with cartoons rather than direct investment advice. For readers already familiar with Peter Schiff's prior work, the review notes the book functions as "a compelling and visually engaging popularization of ideas he has long championed." It's less a how-to and more a why-it-happens.
Does this book oversimplify things too much
That's a real caveat the review flags: because the allegorical cartoon-and-fable structure is designed for general readers, the complexity of real-world monetary policy and financial regulation is necessarily simplified to fit the story. Readers comfortable with economic nuance may find the format "underserves the full texture of the topics it covers," as the review puts it. It's a trade-off — the accessibility that earned it a New York Times bestseller spot and the 2010 getAbstract International Book Award comes at the cost of some depth.
Should i read this book if i already agree with austrian economics
If you're already on board with free-market and sound-money principles, the review says you'll find the book "a thorough articulation of those positions" — and the illustrated, story-driven format makes it a genuinely enjoyable read rather than a dry rehash. It's also described as a visually engaging popularization, so it works well as something to share with people newer to these ideas. Don't expect new arguments if you're already well-versed; expect a polished, accessible version of the case you already find persuasive.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
en.wikipedia.org
- 3
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related Reviews
Reviews of books we picked for readers who enjoyed How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes.
Reader Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!