Francis Bacon long considered a minor figure in the founding of modern political thought is now recognized as one of its foremost thinkers. Bacon not only championed a new type and method of scientific inquiry he also developed a plan for how modern society could be reordered to accommodate and promote scientific progress. Baconamprsquos scientific writings cannot be wholly understood apart from his political writings and many of his works combine the two topics so subtly that it is difficult to even place them in a definitive category in this book Kimberly Hurd Hale identifies the thread in Baconamprsquos body of work that links modern science and liberalism. Hale provides a detailed analysis of New Atlantis examining Baconamprsquos place in the founding of modern political philosophy and the ways he relates to Plato Machiavelli and Hobbes. Hurd argues that Baconamprsquos demonstration of scientific rule in the New Atlantis is not meant as a blueprint for modern society rather it shows us the dangers of a scientific society devoid of liberty. By examining what is troubling about the New Atlantis this book explains what problems lead to the emergence of Atlantean societies i.e. societies that are prosperous ambitious and doomed. It shows that Baconamprsquos portrait of Bensalem may provide the light necessary to guide those of us living in a world shaped by modern science through the dangerous seas.