Financial markets and human folly are clear cases of ‘deja vu all over again’ – an observation which raises the question: if only we knew a little more history, might we be able to draw lessons from the mistakes of our predecessors rather than being doomed to learn the hard way by repeatedly making our own?

Might we be also able to use what the past teaches us to construct a theoretical framework which gives us the hope we might understand our modern world a bit better than did those of the Good and the Great whom the British Queen famously asked, ‘Why did nobody see it coming?’

Oh – and did good, old Walter Bagehot really stand in favour of central banks in principle, and would his shade be likely to endorse the sort of policies they pursue in his name today?

‘Santayana’s Curse’ is the book to read to find out – and please forgive the cringeworthy corporate puffery jammed in as a preface. To adapt the usual disclaimer, the author insists the views are entirely his own – but only once the book proper begins.

Available on Amazon here http://tinyurl.com/santayanascurse