There's so much to know, and so much we don't know, about what led to all the 20th century upheaval in Europe. I was lucky enough to get word of this book, either through Amazon or Goodreads recommendations, before the movie (which is only loosely based on the "mood" created by Zweig and not on his books themselves) before the movie even came out. I can't recommend this book enough to those who wonder, like me, why people didn't see WWI or WWII coming. Like us, everyone was caught up in their own cultural and national preoccupations and believed, before the line became a cliché, that "It couldn't happen here." Anything can happen anywhere. How perceptive and moving a writer Stefan Zweig is, and I hope people who see the "Budapest Hotel" don't think they know him and thus miss out on the experience of seeing through his eyes. A compelling and moving writer, an intimate writer, a man I wish I had known, in a sense, or the kind of person, thoughtful, analytical, perceptive, loving, that I hope I am lucky enough to have in my own life, in reality, and in the authors I find along the way. Don't miss out on him if you want to learn more about yourself, your world, what we see, what we miss, and most of all, what we should remember.Written as both a recollection of the past and a warning for future generations, The World of Yesterday recalls the golden age of literary Vienna—its seeming permanence, its promise, and its devastating fall.
Surrounded by the leading literary lights of the epoch, Stefan Zweig draws a vivid and intimate account of his life and travels through Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and London, touching on the very heart of European culture. His passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the edge of extinction.
This new translation by award-winning Anthea Bell captures the spirit of Zweig’s writing in arguably his most revealing work.
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