Customer Reviews

The Information Master: Jean-Baptiste Colbert's Secret State Intelligence System (Cultures of Knowledge in the Early Modern World)

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I got my hands on an advance copy of this book, and it is TERRIFIC. The author shows how Colbert consolidated both his own and Louis XIV's power by establishing a "secret sphere" of knowledge, of which libraries and archives were the key components. It is fascinating stuff--and not just for specialists of pre-revolutionary French history (like me). The real story here is how power is wielded and strengthened through the savvy manipulation of information and intelligence; anyone who lived through the George W. Bush presidency will be unable to put THE INFORMATION MASTER down.

Scholarly and well-written -- beautifully developed. I'm not an academic, but I do know quite a bit about this period in history, and I learned a great deal more from this book. I loved reading about Colbert's extensive research system: he would have been right at home in the computer age.

A study of Colbert is a massive undertaking: I'm not a scholar, but Soll certainly is. This is a fascinating study.