James W. Gerard was a former New York Supreme Court justice appointed U.S. Ambassador to Germany in October, 1913, which position he held until U.S. diplomatic relations were broken off in February, 1917. His wife was the daughter of the copper magnate that was head of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company.
Gerard’s work increased enormously when the war started in August, 1914, because the American embassy then took over the interests of Britain, France and other nations that had broken diplomatic relations with Germany. A great deal of his work was dealing with the welfare of prisoners of war held in Germany, plus business interests of combatant nations.
The author doesn’t deal with the military aspects of the War, at all, excepting the enormous diplomatic effect of Germany’s submarine warfare.
Gerard met regularly with the highest men in the German political leadership, and had several long private conversations with the Kaiser.
Of great value, to me, at least, are Gerard’s capsule histories of of Germany’s social and military conditions in the decades leading up to World War I.
The book has numerous small but excellent photos, including facsimile photos of social and diplomatic communications, and the Emperor’s 6-page hand-written telegram to U.S. President Wilson (written in English, by the way).

Comes with a deck of WWI playing cards, a booklet about Austrian Military History, a map of Paris and a booklet on Tauberbischofsheim.