Stoddard Lothrop. Present-day Europe, its national states of mind

New York: The Century Co, 1917. — 322 p.This book resolved itself from the first into a series of choices. The problem was, how to portray within the limits of a single volume the war psychology of the various European nations.
That problem was not an easy one. The portrayal of national states of mind requires treatment differing radically from that employed in a narrative of events. The only satisfactory method of portraying thought and emotion is the use of direct evidence — the testimony of the people themselves
This explains the numerous direct quotations which will be found in the succeeding pages. No words of a foreign observer could mirror the spirit of warring Europe as do the voices of its sons and daughters crying out from a full heart in the very hour of trial.
The evidence adduced has been of the most contemporary and popular character. Speeches, press-comment, pamphlets, brochures — the words of and for the moment: these best bespeak the stirrings of the national soul. Official utterances, carefully weighed and craftily spoken as they are, are never quoted save when they faithfully represent popular feeling or when they produce a marked effect upon public opinion.
Lastly, natives alone are permitted upon the witness stand. For example: in the chapter on England, only Englishmen speak; in the chapter on France, only Frenchmen; and so on. What other Europeans say about England or France may be discovered in subsequent chapters devoted to other peoples. The only departures from this direct-quotation rule are the closing chapters dealing with minor nationalities, where considerations of space made the employment of this method impracticable.
The great objection to our method is, of course, precisely this matter of space. But there is no other way of portraying with equal vividness the national temper, especially in times of intense emotion. For this reason I have elected to confine myself to a full presentation of the great currents of European thought and feeling regarding the war and future intra-European relations. Many interesting collateral issues have been thereby excluded from consideration, and important questions, such as Europe's attitude toward America and the Far East, have been perforce entirely passed over. All this is unfortunate, but I have preferred to emphasize essentials rather than sacrifice clearness to detail.Before the Storm
England
France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Italy
Russia
The Balkans
Serbia
Bulgaria
Greece
Rumania
Turkey and the Moslem East
Belgium and Holland
Belgium
Holland
Scandinavia
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
Spain and Portugal
Spain
Portugal