Empire of Debt is a book written by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, subtitled "The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis". The main subject of the book is the United States's alleged transformation from republic to empire, although it also discusses such varied themes as the wisdom of the dead and a style of investment the authors term "essentialism". Bill Bonner is an author of books and articles on economic and financial subjects. ...

Bonner's and Wiggin's iconoclastic points of view contrast sharply with those in mainstream politics of either liberal or conservative persuasion. They frequently make assertions that many, if not most, would find astonishing. They claim that the U.S. would have been as justified in taking Germany's side in World War I as in taking the side of Britain and France. They list Warren G. Harding, Millard Fillmore, and Andrew Johnson as great American presidents, while vilifying Woodrow Wilson as the worst. They suggest that the United States should not try to bring democracy to countries such as Iraq, because there is no reason to think that those countries would prefer an American-style government to a dictatorship. Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was an American politician and the 29th President of the United States, from 1921 to 1923, when he became the sixth president to die in office. ... Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the thirteenth President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853, and the last member of the Whig Party to hold that office. ... Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was the seventeenth President of the United States (1865–1869), succeeding to the presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States. ... A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ...

The authors take a lighthearted attitude toward the economic crisis they describe, poking fun at Thomas Friedman and including a humorous glossary at the end of the book with entries like "Bill Gates: Where God goes for a loan." Thomas Loren Friedman, OBE (born July 20, 1953) an American journalist, author and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. ...