. New York and London, Columbia University Press, 1964 ; un vol. in-12° de xiv-321 pp. Prix: 56s.

The present work is a major study of Spanish foreign policy in the early seventeenth century, original in method and in content. It is not conventional ' diplomatic history '. The author seeks rather to explain in depth not only the objectives of Spanish foreign policy but also the process whereby those objectives were defined and implemented. He concentrates therefore on the ' informational basis ' of Spanish policy-making, the procurement and use of intelligence reports and their effects on policy decisions. He has