PERSONS & PLACES: The Backgound of My Life by Santayana

by
GEORGE SANTAYANA

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 1944
(First Edition)

George Santayana (1863 – 1952), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States, wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters. Of his nearly 89 years, he spent 39 in the U.S.  Santayana is perhaps best known as an aphorist, most famously for his oft-misquoted remark "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (sometimes called Santayana's Law of Repetitive Consequences).   In this autobiography, PERSONS & PLACES, Santayana divides his life into three phases. The background (1863–1886) encompasses his childhood in Spain through his undergraduate years at Harvard. The second period (1886–1912) is that of the Harvard graduate student and professor with a trans-Atlantic penchant for traveling to Europe. The third period (1912–1952) is the retired professor writing and traveling in Europe and eventually establishing Rome as his home. BOOK CONDITION: The book is in VERY GOOD (+) condition with a strong binding and clean unmarked pages. Though the paper is "wartime", these pages show very little, if any, aging.  The dustjacket is in VERY GOOD condition with the usual edge wear--it is protected by a Brodart-type sleeve.