Find out how the numbers on the jobs situation really add up, once you subtract the spin, the hype, and the political posturing.

For most Americans, having a decent job is a matter of basic survival. Politicians of every stripe claim to have the answer—cut taxes, invest in education, develop “green jobs,” balance the budget, spend more on bridges and roads. The slogans are catchy, but will their ideas really work? And how can average citizens make sense of it all?

Fortunately, Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, bestselling authors of Where Does the Money Go? and founding editors of the nonpartisan website PublicAgenda.org, cut through the spin with this essential guide to the national jobs crisis. Exploring a very serious subject in a readable, entertaining manner, Where Did the Jobs Go—and How Do We Get Them Back? examines in detail the various proposals we’ve heard from the left, right, and center. Bittle and Johnson clearly explain the risks and trade-offs associated with each idea, writing specifically for citizens of all political leanings who aren’t economists, financiers, business school professors, or think-tank policy wonks.