Book Reviews : The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society James R. Beniger Publisher: Harvard University Press,79 Garden St.,Cambridge,MA 02138 Year of Publication: 1986 Price: $25.00 Length: 493 pages Intended Audience: Historians,economists,the educated public

Abstract

The book's basic thesis is that today's much-heralded information society is an outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution of the past century. The application of new forms of energy and mechanisms of production that occurred during the Industrial Revolution brought a dramatic rise in the speed, amount, and complexity of industrial processes, which in turn necessitated a "control revolution." The control revolution relies upon the collection, processing, and transmission of information in new and dramatic ways and is directed at the control of production, distribution, and application (consumption).