ABSTRACT
The purpose of this book has been to examine the significance of information in the late twentieth century. It has asked how and why is it that, on the brink of the second millennium, information has come to be perceived as a, arguably the, defining feature of our times. My starting point was to remark on the consensus amongst thinkers that information is now of pivotal importance in contemporary affairs: it is acknowledged that not only is there a very great deal more information about than ever before, but also that it plays a central and strategic role in pretty well everything we do, from business transactions and leisure pursuits to government activities.
