Stefan Zweig was a leading talisman of a united Europe of unfettered
movement, of pro-active cultural exchange, humane decency and tolerance,
all polar opposites of the Nationalist regimes he loathed, and which
came to power in the 1930s. In these poignant essays and addresses,
forged in the last years or even months of his life, he shows his
profound concern for and dedication to the survival of Europe's
spiritual integrity.
These essays form the natural accompaniment to Zweig's renowned memoir
The World of Yesterday, registering the same themes and evoking the
same nostalgia for a world brutally consigned to history. They can be
seen as a vital addendum to that major work or as a prefiguration. But
perhaps even more so than the prose of the memoir, these essays, few in
number but rich in content, reveal the essence of Zweig's thought.