L'Aventure de l'Encyclopédie

A great book about even greater book, The Business of Enlightenment explores some fascinating territory in the new French genre of histoire du livre. This tale of entrepreneurial greed and intrigue, with its colorful cast of characters, examines the means of cultural communication in eighteenth century Europe. In tracing the publishing history of Diderot's Encyclopedie, Robert Darnton investigates the workings of the literary marketplace and demonstrates how ideas are diffused through society.