Walter Bagehot (1826 77), the influential political and economic essayist, wrote a number of books that became standards in their respective fields. He attended University College, London, where he studied mathematics and gained a master's degree in intellectual and moral philosophy. He was called to the bar, but instead chose a career in his father's banking business. He wrote widely on literature, economics and politics, co-founding the National Review in 1855. He became editor-in-chief of The Economist in 1860 and remained in that post until his death. This work, published originally in...