The decade which lies ahead will undoubtedly be the most important in the history of the Foreign Service of the United States. There could, therefore, be no more fortunate time than now for the publication of this able analysis of the Service, and I hope that many Americans will read this book, for it presents a sound and accurate picture of the Foreign Service and its problems.<br><br>There have been two major changes in American representation abroad during this century. The first resulted from the passage in 1924 of the Rogers Act which amalgamated the old diplomatic and consular services into a single Foreign Service of the United States. In 1925 Tracy Hollingsworth Lay, Consul General of the United States, wrote his book on the Service which has been the definitive work on the subject for over twenty years. Last summer the Congress passed the Foreign Service Act of 1946 on which the Service operates today, so that we now have what is virtually a new Service, and this volume takes the place of Consul General Lay's excellent work.