'… it is no doubt true that this history of the enclosure of knowledge about farming 'has profound significance for our understanding of how modern capitalism developed' (275). Fisher has provided us with an important reminder of this significance and a useful discussion of a remarkably extensive set of books on agriculture and has packaged it all in interesting and articulate prose.' Jim Handy, Agricultural History

'The copious publication of agricultural literature in Britain during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has received very little sustained attention since the studies of George Fussell several decades ago, a body of work now not much consulted … Hence James D. Fisher's work on this theme … is very welcome, and he has done a very thorough survey of the available works (made possible now through electronic depositories).' Paul Warde, Journal of Modern History

'… a splendid book rethinking the intellectual and cultural history of books and pamphlets about agriculture and the countryside in the long eighteenth century. It is written with great clarity and considerable verve, sweeping the reader through a fascinating story about the transformation of agricultural knowledge over time.' John Broad, Cultural and Social History