This is the first contemporary history of the Bank of England from its independence in 1997 to the present day. It draws on extensive interviews with senior Bank staff , past and present, and with leading figures in Whitehall, Westminster and the City. It sheds new light on the Bank’s role in the financial crisis, including the dramatic collapse of Northern Rock, the bailout of Britain’s largest banks and the genesis of the Bank’s Quantitative Easing programme. It is a superbly written and well-researched account of Britain’s central bank, of its idiosyncratic Governor, Sir Mervyn King, and of Machiavellianism at the heart of this most secretive and influential institution.