From the foreword: "The writer, an observer and student of European affairs for fifteen years, has never had an ax to grind or theories and national causes to advance and champion. In the Near East during the years leading up to the World War, in Paris during the World War and the Peace Conference, and following the aftermath of the war since the treaties were signed, his sole ambition has been to record what he has observed. He is not pro-anything. He feels, as he did when he wrote âThe New Map of Europeâ in 1914, âThe New Map of Africaâ in 1916, and âThe New Map of Asiaâ in 1919, that a host of people are seeking an unbiased presentation of contemporary events, so that sentimentality will not obscure common sense in forming their opinion on the important problem of Americaâs place in the world and Americaâs duty toward the world. We must know how things actually are in order that we may help effectively to make them what they ought to be."