Note: This authors note appears in identical form in at least the DAW printings for the Shadowmarch series. Here is an extract of the wording to assist in verification on if the note appears in a publication. The note has two paragraphs:

For those who which to feel securely grounded in the Who, What, and Where of things, … and other important materials. The maps have been compiled from an exhaustive array of traveler's tales, … to make these aids available to you, the reader.

This note is also where Tad Williams takes implicit credit for drawing the maps that appear in the publications.