The great collection of letters and papers comprising the Smuts Papers has been assembled at the University of Cape Town by Dr Jean van der Poel, under Sir Keith Hancock's direction, since Smuts's death in 1950. The first four volumes of selections cover the period 1886–1919. The selections are divided into twelve parts, each with a short introductory section. Dr van der Poel has provided brief introductions to each letter, article or speech and has annotated every document. This volume covers the early years of the Union, the campaigns in the South West and East Africa in 1915 and 1916, and Smuts's membership of the British War Cabinet. It includes his famous speech on the British Empire as a Commonwealth of Nations and his first formulation of the idea of a League of Nations.