William Hixson's A Matter of Interest is a good example of the important contribution that an independent scholar can make to a subject where the professionals have become dependent on an orthodoxy which has been highly insensitive to criticism. Hixson's position is that the dynamics of debt creates a strong tendency for an increasing burden on a society which looks as if it can only be corrected by occasional catastrophe. There is much historical evidence to support this thesis. It represents an important tradition in economics, going back to Henry Simons and to Irving Fisher, which has been strangely neglected by the profession. Professional economists will find some things in this book with which they will disagree, but the general thesis presents a very important challenge to them, and this is a work that should be taken very seriously. Kenneth E. Boulding Distinguished Professor of Economics University of Colorado at Boulder In A Matter of Interest William Hixson presents a very interesting analysis of our economic systems. Hixson's analysis is highly original, well written, and comprehensible even for readers not well versed in economics. His frequent references to the great thinkers in economics give the argument a lot of depth. Robert Guttmann Professor of Economics Hofstra University Hempstead, NY