Steinmetz argues, based on a prosopgraphic reconstruction of the postwar French sociology field, that around half of the rise of social sciences was intertwined with imperial efforts to control colonies, particularly between the late 1930s and the 1960s.

The book employs a new methodological approach, blending contextual factors, intellectual dynamics within the social sciences, and close readings of sociological texts, to examine the colonial engagement of prominent sociologists like Raymond Aron, Jacques Berque, Georges Balandier, and Pierre Bourdieu.

Steinmetz highlights how sociology served the French empire post-World War II, particularly in developmentalist initiatives, and emphasizes interdisciplinary connections with other colonial social sciences.

[7] Nicholas Hoover Wilson, sociologist and academic at Stony Brook University, commended the book for its thorough relational approach, challenging conventional categories and emphasizing ongoing classification struggles.

While offering substantial praise, Wilson also posed methodological and analytical questions, such as the practicality of a comprehensive reading of all scholars entangled by colonialism and the potential challenges arising from ontological commitments.

The reviewer highlighted Steinmetz's neo-Bourdieusian perspective and the multiplex analytic strategy employed, shedding light on the often-repressed colonial origins of French sociology.

Vo saw Steinmetz's work as a generative and vigilant revision of French intellectual history, urging readers to recognize the colonial entanglements that shaped modern frameworks.

Baker acknowledged the theoretical approach rooted in Bourdieu's field theory and praised the book for opening up possibilities for comparative analysis of colonial situations and corresponding knowledge.

In his review[e] published by la vie des idées,Jean-Louis Fabiani valued Steinmetz's ambitious exploration of the "colonial matrix"'s significance in shaping modern world social sciences.