Few studies of the history of provincial France have hitherto spanned the conventional medieval/early-modern divide, and David Potter's detailed examination of war and government in Picardy, a region of France hitherto neglected by historians, has much to say about the development of French absolutism. Picardy emerged as a province after the campaigns of 1470 1477, and its experience of the first period of absolutism provides an enlightening contrast with that of other, more outlying provinces: the Picard nobility was notable for the extent of its participation in the army, the court and the...

Public concern about environmental issues has attracted interest in the subject in both the popular media and academic literature. The work of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) like Greenpeace and others in trying to change the environmental policies of governments and business organizations has received some attention, but what has been written is mostly northern-based and about northern NGOs.