Deflation is one of the most feared terms in economics. It immediately conjures visions of abandoned farms and idle factories, and streams of unemployed workers standing in breadlines.

In this important new book, Chris Farrell explains that deflation need not presage a collapse. In the process he provides new ways of looking at our economic and financial futures. More than an introduction to the subject, Farrell points out that deflation has always been a fundamental aspect of the business cycle.

As they did in 19th-century America, deflation and fast economic growth can coexist. However, the impact on business, consumers, investors, policymakers -- and you -- is the subject of this incisive volume.