Book review: the rise of the right to know: politics and the culture of transparency, 1945-1975 by Michael Schudson

How has governmental and corporate transparency become a fundamental element of political culture? In The Rise of the Right to Know: Politics and the Culture of Transparency, 1945-1975, Michael Schudson provides a historical account of how information disclosure by governments and corporations has emerged as an integral part of public life in the second half of the twentieth century. As freedom of information is seen to be a crucial means of holding policymakers to account, the need to understand its history and development makes this book an essential read for anyone researching politics and open government, writes Monica Horten.