Reviews.indd


196 College & Research Libraries March 2006 

One can examine information politics 
on the Web from one of two perspectives: 
as being either “back-end” (that of search 
engine technology) or “front-end” (the ac-
cessible public Web sites characterized by 
diversity, inclusivity, and relative promi-
nence). For the purpose of this study, 
Rogers developed four political soft ware 
tools to capture information about Viagra; 
to measure the pressure of social debate; 
to measure the campaigning behavior of 
stable sets of NGO actors; and to measure 
changing political party commitments. 

Chapter two discusses medieval 
practices of knowledge seeking and 
how contemporary knowledge-seeking 
technique is based on the old practice of 
collaborative filtering. The chapter also of-
fers an entertaining analysis of offi  cial and 
unofficial accounts of the health benefits 
of Viagra. On the basis of his fi ndings on 
how information politics works, Rogers 
argues that the Web should be—and can 
be—a “collision space” for offi  cial and 
unofficial accounts of reality. 

Chapter three describes how one may 
capture “de-territorialization,” or the 
displacement of issue making by select 
social groups and the provision of deci-
sion-making input to networks, actors, 
and positions outside the organization. 
According to the author, when a “de-ter-
ritorialized” issue has been located, the 
organization of national public debate 
becomes a matter of re-territorialization. 
Rogers discusses the recent eff orts made 
to stage a national public debate on the 
safety of genetically modified food, and 
how the Web may aid in showing when 
and why re-territorialization moves may 

Index to advertisers 
AIAA cover 2 
Annual Reviews cover 3 
Archival Products 198 
CHOICE 100 
EBSCO cover 4 
Emery Pratt 176 
Idea Group Publishing 99 
Library Technology Alliance 105 

fail. Rogers and his colleagues follow, 
map, and visualize the national and 
international circulation of information 
pertaining to issues of food safety and 
genetically modified food. This leads 
them to question the Web’s aptitude to 
reveal and accommodate diff erent forms 
of democratic activities. 

Presented earlier at the international 
FirstMonday Conference in Maastricht, 
chapter four attempts to defend the cre-
ation, as well as a particular design, of an 
issue stream dedicated to civil society. The 
defense is based on empirical findings 
concerning the inadequacies of press 
coverage of civil society issues as well and 
of the summiteers to G8 in Genoa. The 
findings also indicate an additional item 
of interest to many people curious about 
Web source dynamics vis-à-vis print 
media. The researchers found streams 
need not be refreshed daily; monthly or 
bimonthly will do. 

The discussion in chapter fi ve, present-
ed earlier at the University of Amsterdam, 
looks at how political strategists deal with 
press attention. He utilized an instrument 
that watches the press in a particular 
way to gain an indication of how well 
or poorly a party and its issues are rep-
resented. Here, the stream att empts to 
capture and display a politics-of-press 
attention. Chapter six summarizes all the 
issues discussed in the book. 

Information Politics on the Web is an 
important contribution to the ongoing 
debate about Web epistemology. It identi-
fies the cultures, techniques, and devices 
behind recommended information on 
the Web, analyzing not only the political 
content of Web sites, but also the politics 
behind the Web’s infrastructure. The 
book will be of interest to information 
specialists, politicians, government, and 
nongovernment organizations.—Kaba 
Abdoulaye, Al-Ain University of Science & 
Technology, United Arab Emirates. 

Stockdale, Eric. ‘Tis Treason, My Good 
Man”: Four Revolutionary Presidents 
and a Piccadilly Bookshop. New Castle, 



Book Reviews 197 

Del.: Oak Knoll; London: British Li-
brary, 2005. 421p. alk. paper, $45 (ISBN 
1584561580 [US]; 0712306994 [UK]). 
LC 2004-63644. 

Eric Stockdale, distinguished lawyer, 
historian, and author, reveals a unique, 
but vital, connection between the owner 
of a small London bookshop and some 
of America’s founding fathers. Each 
chapter of the monograph provides 
evidence that the London bookseller and 
publisher, John Stockdale (no relation to 
author), had ties and connections with 
several principal figures in American his-
tory, including four American presidents, 
two early American authors, Benjamin 
Franklin, Tom Paine, and many more. 
Eric Stockdale has held many positions 
including serving as a barrister, circuit 
judge, attorney, and visiting professor. 
Over the years, he has written a variety 
of books pertaining to both historical and 
legal subjects. 

The purpose of this publication is to 
present evidence that many of America’s 
founding fathers and important histori-
cal figures were advocates for freedom 
of the press and freedom of speech. John 
Stockdale played an important role in 
the evolution and emergence of the book 
trade business in the United States, as 
well as in the publication of early U.S. 
patriots’ papers and correspondence. 
This monograph is organized in a way 
that facilitates the telling of the life story 
of John Stockdale, but also to illuminate 
stories and events surrounding specific 
individuals who contributed to American 
and British history as well as to the book 
trade business. Eric Stockdale arranged 
the information into chapters according 
to people and events included (e.g., “John 
Almon and John Wilkes”; “Benjamin 
Franklin and Almon”; “Henry Laurens 
and Independence”; and “Thomas Jef-
ferson and John Stockdale”). 

In the first five chapters, people who 
encouraged and assisted John Stockdale 
with the opening of a bookshop are in-
troduced. Young John Stockdale worked 
for a London publisher, John Almon, who 

was known for publishing “a good many 
more titles by Americans and about the 
American controversy than any other 
London bookseller.” In 1780, aft er Almon 
retired from the book publishing busi-
ness, John Stockdale opened up his own 
book shop in London and became “a vig-
orous backer of books by Americans and 
on American subjects, and he remained so 
until at least the close of the century.” 

John Stockdale was fortunate to in-
herit many of John Almon’s connections 
with Americans, but Stockdale also 
developed many new relationships with 
other prominent Americans primarily 
through Thomas Day (one of the fi rst au-
thors published by Stockdale). Through 
Day’s acquaintance, John Stockdale was 
introduced and formed ties with John 
Laurens (one of General Washington’s 
closest aides), Henry Laurens (president 
of Congress in Philadelphia), Benjamin 
Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, John 
Quincy Adams, Thomas Jeff erson, Dr. 
David Ramsay (America’s fi rst historian), 
and Dr. Jedidiah Morse (Father of Ameri-
can Geography). 

Chapter six discusses how John Stock-
dale became the sole book publisher 
and trader for many of these important 
historic figures. Through the published 
works of America’s founders, the reader 
begins to recognize the challenges the 
London bookseller encountered in a time 
of turmoil and unrest in London and 
America. In addition to the problems 
and issues John Stockdale faced with the 
book-selling/publishing business, this 
chapter is also a detailed presentation of 
other obstructions and complexities he 
encountered in owning and operating a 
bookshop in London during the 1700s. 

Another especially enlightening sec-
tion of the monograph is chapter 20, 
in which the author highlights John 
Stockdale’s final days as a book publisher 
and discusses key events and transitions 
during his career. John Stockdale devel-
oped a variety of special interests over 
the years, including American politics, 
geography, topography, and children’s 



198 College & Research Libraries 

books. Often he kept a private stock of 
books about these particular interests in 
his bookshop for addition to his personal 
collection. 

Eric Stockdale does an excellent job 
of connecting John Stockdale to essential 
American political figures and significant 
inventors. For example, although John 
Stockdale was not known specifi cally as 
a “printer” per se, he was introduced to 
Friedrich Koenig (German inventor of 
the cylinder printing press), who in turn 
developed a partnership with Thomas 
Bensley (printer who printed the majority 
of Stockdale’s books). The invention of 
the printing press and John Stockdale’s 
ongoing association with Friedrich Koe-
nig changed the process and outcome 
of the book publishing business for the 
remainder of history. 

In summary, this monograph carries 
the reader over a period of time through 
relationships, events, and historical tran-

March 2006 

sitions that are reflected in the life of the 
London bookseller and publisher John 
Stockdale. This book includes a useful 
index, appendix, photographs, and prints. 
Most of the information presented was 
found in unpublished correspondence 
files, published papers, and writings of 
historically prominent Americans, and 
other historic documents. Eric Stock-
dale visited and conducted research at 
a variety of institutions, including the 
New York Historical Society, London 
Library, London Metropolitan Archives, 
South Carolina Historical Society, Mas-
sachusetts Historical Society, American 
Philosophical Society, and the University 
of Manchester Library. This book is highly 
recommended for history scholars, gradu-
ate students, librarians, and archivists 
interested in American and British history 
and politics, the American Revolution, 
and the book publishing business.—Katie 
Nash, Elon University.