"Soll tells this story in wonderfully lucid prose, and with a great gift for concision. Colbert emerges from his pages not only as the patron saint of modern bureaucrats, but as a forceful--if somewhat repellent--personality, and as another of the great early modern figures who sought to gain unprecedented knowledge of, and mastery over, the material world." --New Republic "Wit...(展开全部)

This title offers a fascinating inquiry into Jean-Baptiste Colbert's collection of knowledge. Jean-Baptiste Colbert saw governance of the state not as the inherent ability of the king, but as a form of mechanical mastery of subjects such as medieval legal history, physics, navigation, and the price lists of nails, sails, and gunpowder. His actions at the French Royal Library ma...(展开全部)

"Soll tells this story in wonderfully lucid prose, and with a great gift for concision. Colbert emerges from his pages not only as the patron saint of modern bureaucrats, but as a forceful--if somewhat repellent--personality, and as another of the great early modern figures who sought to gain unprecedented knowledge of, and mastery over, the material world." --New Republic "Wit...(展开全部)

This title offers a fascinating inquiry into Jean-Baptiste Colbert's collection of knowledge. Jean-Baptiste Colbert saw governance of the state not as the inherent ability of the king, but as a form of mechanical mastery of subjects such as medieval legal history, physics, navigation, and the price lists of nails, sails, and gunpowder. His actions at the French Royal Library ma...(展开全部)

The original "Master Key System" writings, available only through referrals from one person to another, were a closely guarded secret in Europe for decades. They were considered essentially secret wisdom teachings amongst primarily only the very wealthy. In 1912, Charles F. Haanel published this body of knowledge as a work which he presented as The Master Key System. This mater...(展开全部)

The original "Master Key System" writings, available only through referrals from one person to another, were a closely guarded secret in Europe for decades. They were considered essentially secret wisdom teachings amongst primarily only the very wealthy. In 1912, Charles F. Haanel published this body of knowledge as a work which he presented as The Master Key System. This mater...(展开全部)

The history of espionage is far older than any of today’s intelligence agencies, yet the long history of intelligence operations has been largely forgotten. The codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the most successful World War II intelligence agency, were completely unaware that their predecessors in earlier moments of national crisis had broken the codes of Napoleon during the Nap...(展开全部)

Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, former Chair of the History Faculty at Cambridge University, Official Historian of the Security Service (MI5), Honorary Air Commodore of 7006 (VR) Intelligence Squadron in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Chairman of the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, and former Visiting Professor at Harvard, Toronto and Canberra. Andrew is...(展开全部)

Christopher Andrew is emeritus professor of modern and contemporary history at the University of Cambridge. His many books include The Sword and the Shield; The World Was Going Our Way; and Defend the Realm, an authorized history of MI5.

Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, former Chair of the History Faculty at Cambridge University, Official Historian of the Security Service (MI5), Honorary Air Commodore of 7006 (VR) Intelligence Squadron in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Chairman of the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, and former Visiting Professor at Harvard, Toronto and Canberra. Andrew is...(展开全部)