When was the decision actually made to drop the atomic bomb on Japan? History lessons tend to focus on the lead-up and the catastrophic aftermath, but less so on the precise moment, or moments when the decision to unless such unprecedented destruction was made.

Someone asked me recently how I find the books I read, and I replied, “often they find me.” Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire is a perfect example.

As the saying goes, history doesn’t always repeat, but it often rhymes. In reading 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, it’s hard not to notice the parallels between the market behaviours leading up to the 1929 crash and those we see today.

I’ve read a number of books on monetary history, but Debt: The First 5,000 Years took me in a direction I hadn’t expected. I bought it purely based on the title, somewhat assuming it would be a detailed history of monetary debt and the consequences of excessive borrowing.