Charles Wheelan is a writer who tackled the idea of making economics understandable to the average reader after encouragement from Tifanny Richards. He worked with researchers and individuals with connections to Nobel laureates to compile information to the book. When the book was written, he had some of the best economists in the world read through the manuscript, offering suggestions and recommendations, adding their expertise. Wheelan teaches students at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and Dartmouth College. He states that the ideas in the book are not his own. He is just a translator for others who have done great things in the field of economics.