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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is always difficult to list the immediate sources of ideas and assistance — from authors, colleagues, and students— in the conception and writing of a book, and particularly so in a book that pretends tosynthesize other people's empirical work. The great risk is neglect. In the case of this volume the two authors whose voluminous writings most immediately inspired me on the path I finally decided to go were Fernand Braudel and Marian Malowist. Once I had written a draft, Fernand Braudel read it carefully and gave me encouragement at a moment when I needed reassurance. Charles Tilly also read it carefully, and by raising pertinent questions forced me to clarify my argument. This was particularly so concerning the role of statepower and "absolutism" in general, and its counterpoint with the phenomenon of banditry in particular. Douglas Dowd put me onto Frederic Lane for which I thank him, since Frederic Lane is very worth being put onto. As for Terence Hopkins, my debt is to our twenty years of intellectual discussion and collaboration.There is no sentence that can summarize this debt. This book was written during a year's stay at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Countless authors have sung its praises. Aside from splendid surroundings, unlimited library and secretarial assistance , and a ready supply of varied scholars to consult at a moment's notice, what the center offers is to leave the scholar to his own devices, for good or ill. Would that all men had such wisdom. The final version was consummated with the aid of a grant from the Social Sciences Grants Subcommittee of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research of McGill University. XI This page intentionally left blank ...

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