The book "Interpreters as Diplomats" by Ruth A. Roland is an enriched reprint of her 1982 work titled "Translating World Affairs," a piece that went largely unnoticed by the translation and interpreting circles. The well-documented research, based on extensive bibliography, is the only monograph that depicts a truly analytical history of interpretation, as it was practiced even before the birth of translation and writing.

The unique approach to the subject, namely the role of interpreters in diplomatic and political history, allows the reader, the professional interpreter, or the interpreting student who wishes to learn about the history of the profession to find in it the basic historical events in which interpreters played a leading role. Large periods are covered, including the Greco-Roman period, the conquerors, and the discovery of the New World. The book also deals with interpreters who made significant contributions to the conclusion of important international treaties, who worked in the interpretation services of the Chinese, Indian, or Japanese bureaucracy, and in the League of Nations, as well as others who played a significant role in both world wars, the Nuremberg trials, and the United Nations General Assembly.