[2][3] Commissioned by the British Government and issued as an official Parliamentary "Blue Book" report in October 1916, the volume is divided regionally into twenty sections, each of which contains multiple eyewitness and secondhand reports, dispatches, news articles, and letters.

[4] The publication presents Arnold J. Toynbee's analysis of the population in the Ottoman Empire.

Although the book has been criticized by some Turkish denialists as propaganda to build up support for the war,[5] Bryce submitted the work to scholars for verification before its publication.

Oxford professor Gilbert Murray stated of the tome, "...the evidence of these letters and reports will bear any scrutiny and overpower any skepticism.

"[6] Other professors, including Herbert Fisher of Sheffield University and former American Bar Association president Moorfield Storey, affirmed the same conclusion.