Engineering the Revolution: Arms and Enlightenment in France, 1763-1815 Book

This is a book about how Napoleon and others coopted the technical elites in France to help secure their success in the French Revolution and the wars that accompanied it. I am not a specialist on French Revolution historiography but this book was very influential in criticizing certain stereotypes that had grown up around the revolution. To me, the book provides a rare link between politics an economy and thus is richer than your tradition political or military history. It also helps explain the conservative outcome of the revolutionary traumas. Finally, it gives an example of a technical innovation - rifling in cannons and standardized production - that was suppressed for political reasons. Example of this taking place are very unusual in history - much more often successful innovation, especially in weapons - wins out. It was not an easy read and specialists will no doubt get more out of it, but I was happy that I read it.