The World Of Yesterday

Mar 30, 2013 Kris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kris by: Ted

Shelves: austria , germany , memoir , non-fiction , favorites , world-war-i , world-war-ii

I have been struggling to write this review. I have a draft that keeps growing, with more quotes, more of my analysis, more words -- but as I write more, I worry that I am getting further away from Stefan Zweig, further away from this beautiful, sad, angry, insightful, anguished text.

So am I scrapping all those words, and starting over.

Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) wrote The World of Yesterday in desperate times. The unconventional memoir is a cri de coeur from Zweig, who stood for everything Hitler ...more

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Feb 28, 2015 Steve Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Citizens of the World

Recommended to Steve by: Kris

Shelves: friend-recommendations , friend-favorites , memoir , austrian-authors , jewish , about-books , writers , 20th-century , exile , human-rights , pacifism , world-war-i , world-war-ii

During the early days of the Second World War, Stefan Zweig delivered his quirky memoir to his publisher and then, a few months afterward, committed suicide jointly with his wife. They could no longer bear to look upon a world bent on its own destruction. In killing themselves, they mimicked the Europe that was committing cultural suicide before their own eyes.

Stefan Zweig was an Austrian, a Jew, a writer, a humanist, an intellectual, and a pacifist. The volcanic events of the 20th Century cut During the early days of the Second World War, Stefan Zweig delivered his quirky memoir to his publisher and then, a few months afterward, committed suicide jointly with his wife. They could no longer bear to look upon a world bent on its own destruction. In killing themselves, they mimicked the Europe that was committing cultural suicide before their own eyes.

Stefan Zweig was an Austrian, a Jew, a writer, a humanist, an intellectual, and a pacifist. The volcanic events of the 20th Century cut him off from “the world of yesterday” and flung him into the whirling void. He writes as a stranger and an exile—geographically and spiritually. He states that it is his duty to bear witness to “the pale horses of the apocalypse” that stalked him through his life: revolution; famine; economic depression-- and to the “outbreak of collective bestiality” (terror, fascism, communism, Nazism, and “the poison of nationalism”). After the German annexation of Austria, Zweig escaped his country with nothing except his memories.

He contrasts the world at war with the “World of Yesterday”--Vienna during the Golden Age of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, “where the state seemed the ultimate guarantor of durability.” Vienna epitomized intellectual tolerance and veneration of art. Each citizen became “a supranational citizen of the world.” Instead of a German will to efficiency, Viennese liked “to chat at our ease.” Haste was considered bad form and “live and let live” was a principle that seemed to Zweig more humane than any German categorical imperative.

Zweig describes his idyllic student days as a scion of a wealthy merchant and mournfully recalls that while he and his friends discussed poetry, “We failed to see the writing on the wall in letters of fire. Like King Belshazzar before us, we dined on the delicious dishes of the arts and never looked apprehensively ahead.” The concerns of his youth seemed “positively Lilliputian” to him when reconstructed for his memoir. Zweig experienced “detours on the way to himself.” Time stretched out endlessly but, “I was not yet fully committed to anything, while I still had the carefree pleasure of tasting, trying, and enjoying whatever was offered.”

World War I punctured this idyll:

The great wave broke over humanity so suddenly, with such violence, that as it foamed over the surface it bought up from the depths the dark, unconscious primeval urges and instincts of the human animal... the rejection of civilization…. And a longing to break out of the bourgeoisie world of laws to indulge in the ancient bloodlust of humanity. (247)

Committed to international solidarity, Zweig hated zealous patriotism, false heroism, and the “wordsmiths of war” – that "pack" that called cautious people "cowards" and called humane people "weak.” He observed people “drunk on the smell of blood” and a war that brought a “mental rigidity to whole nations.” Zweig sought refuge from crowd psychosis by moving to Switzerland.

After the war, the economic catastrophe of currency devaluation wiped out his wealth. But during the interlude of peace, he sought refuge in an international community of artists and writers. From this community he observed and chronicled the act of creativity until the world again experienced “the death throes of peace.”

With the ascension of Hitler and the toxins of xenophobia and nationalism, Zweig felt that old, familiar pain and surrendered to despair. Yet, in saying “no” to the world, Zweig found a way of saying “yes” to himself. I was moved by his visionary idealism and commitment to international culture. Zweig quotes Shakespeare’s war speech from Henry V and appropriates it to communicate solidarity with all people of peace who share his vision: “We happy few, we band of brothers.” The world of yesterday can be reborn and calls again unto the hearts of its citizens.

April 9, 2013 ...more

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Wieland In august 2014 I read your great review, now I read the book. I want to thank you to introcuce me into a brilliant book. I can't wait to read more fro ...more
updated Mar 10, 2015 03:26PM

Steve Sckenda Wieland wrote: "In august 2014 I read your great review, now I read the book. I want to thank you to introcuce me into a brilliant book. I can't wait ...more
Mar 10, 2015 06:17PM

Jun 15, 2014 none rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of the cultural life of Europeans between the World Wars

Shelves: autobiography , holocaust-wwii , read-x-2 , favorites

THE WORLD OF YESTERDAY by Stefan Zweig is a testament to the time between WWI and WWII, the life of the mind in Austria prior to Nazi occupation, and the terrors visited on the citizens who ultimately fled the horrors of the time...in some tragic cases by their own hands.

This autobiography will challenge some current thinking on the first half of the 20th century with vivid details from a man more than capable of telling the story. Highest recommendation!

Read x 2; HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! FAVORIT ...more

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Gary Inbinder Cheryl, thanks for bringing attention to this major 20th century author.
Jun 16, 2014 09:37AM

none Gary wrote: "Cheryl, thanks for bringing attention to this major 20th century author."

You're welcome, Gary, and there is a Stefan Zweig Group that has ...more
Jun 16, 2014 12:12PM

Aug 06, 2014 Garima rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: we-reads , non-fic , remember-me-with-words , war-with-peace , no-kidding , my-2-cents , wehmut

Once more I wandered down to the town to have a last look at peace.

Time is an invincible enigma. Every moment brings something new for us to keep our faith intact while every new day brutally shatters the long held belief about matters dear to one’s life. This paradoxical existence of seemingly benign hands of minutes, seconds and hours have made people witness the extent of human compassion as well as the chasm of inhuman atrocities; and when the smoke from glowing and extinguished embers of pa Once more I wandered down to the town to have a last look at peace.

Time is an invincible enigma. Every moment brings something new for us to keep our faith intact while every new day brutally shatters the long held belief about matters dear to one’s life. This paradoxical existence of seemingly benign hands of minutes, seconds and hours have made people witness the extent of human compassion as well as the chasm of inhuman atrocities; and when the smoke from glowing and extinguished embers of past settles down, whatever little remains in the form of nostalgia or hopeless realization emanates nothing but little consolation. In ‘The World of Yesterday’, Stefan Zweig laments about one such time when the world of his dreams transmuted into that of his nightmares and surfaced in front of his eyes like a menacing shadow which left him melancholic at the fateful loss of a paradise.

But we, who once knew a world of individual freedom, know and can give testimony that Europe once, without a care, enjoyed its kaleidoscopic play of color. And we shudder when we think how overcast, overshadowed, enslaved and enchained our world has become because of its suicidal fury.

Once upon a time that world was beautiful. Zweig was born and brought up in luxury, both of material and intellectual wealth. Art was a way of life which didn’t limit itself within the realms of mere hobby or passion but was also a source of recreation. Although this culture of Europe had its flaws, it was also a home to a young generation which was restless for exciting discoveries and inevitable changes. If the masters of history were highly revered, the talent of present was duly encouraged too. This was a time of known unknown talents in various fields going by the names of Rilke, Freud, Rodin, Peter Hille, Emile Verhaeren, Richard Strauss, Bertha von Suttner and this was also the century where people like Hitler emerged as a demonic power. Yes, it was an indulging era which gave its citizens a sort of utopian freedom that proved to be a boon and later an irrepressible curse.

If we, driven and hunted in these times which are inimical to every art and every collection, were put to it to learn a new art, it would be that of parting from all that once had been our pride and our love.

Zweig has given us a self-effacing and profound account of a period where he was lucky to explore the alleys of great literary avenues and himself became a virtuoso of dazzling words. Though one can gauge the prudence in his writing, his enthusiasm on meeting his heroes, whether personally or through original manuscripts was contagious and one can easily feel his pain when he had to leave those very alleys which were sucked into the unbridgeable gaps created by two world wars. This memoir is an attempt to verbalize the vulnerability of happiness, success and innocence. It’s a portrayal of those people whose understanding of a hollow worldliness came through hardships and betrayal. It’s a story of the unfortunates who renounced their lives not because of death but deathlike experiences in which their each breath became accountable to an unworthy despot. It’s a cautionary case presented by a beloved writer with a hope that his thoughts will reach us in some form when time again strikes doom.

My life was already unconsciously accommodating itself to the temporary rather than to the permanent.

Sometimes heart and home can never be together. Zweig never returned home.

...more

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Garima David wrote: "Garima wrote: "Zweig never returned home."

If only he had waited until 1946."

I doubt if waiting was ever an issue for him. He had his rea ...more
Jun 18, 2014 02:00AM

Lynne King Garima, I've just come across your excellent review.

I have just started reading this memoir and so far it is excellent.
Feb 15, 2015 03:28AM

Oct 31, 2014 Rowena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics , autobiography

"What a man has taken into his bloodstream in childhood from the air of that time stays with him."

I found it hard to write a review for this book. There was just so much I wanted to say.

A very nostalgic autobiography was what we were presented with here. I appreciated reading an account on how differently things were before the war. In the security chapter I couldn't help but be reminded of the Margaret McMillan talk I attended this Spring and how she said this period before WW1 was a very com "What a man has taken into his bloodstream in childhood from the air of that time stays with him."

I found it hard to write a review for this book. There was just so much I wanted to say.

A very nostalgic autobiography was what we were presented with here. I appreciated reading an account on how differently things were before the war. In the security chapter I couldn't help but be reminded of the Margaret McMillan talk I attended this Spring and how she said this period before WW1 was a very comfortable and optimistic time in Europe, the continent was sleepwalking.

The book manages to drive home the fact that we have come a long way in the last century; there have been so many drastic changes.

"I feel that the world in which I grew up and the world of today, not to mention the world in between them, are drawing further and further apart and becoming entirely different places."

I love history and I've studied a lot about WW1 and WW2 history. What is often missing in the texts I read are the feelings and thoughts of the general population at the time. In this book we learn more about those feelings, the feelings of the Austrian people, in particular those of Zweig who I believe was one of the unique stories: a man who became famous in such an unusual time period. I was in awe of Zweig's writing from start to finish and believe he was the perfect person to present the psyche of the fin de siècle. At the same time it was unfortunate that he had lived in that period because the stresses and changes that took place in that time period led to his relatively early death. So many what ifs came to mind...

Highly recommended! ...more

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Jul 21, 2014 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-early-to-mid , examined-lives , great-and-terrible-men , its-the-quiet-ones , owned , the-continent , worlds-lost-dead-and-dying , theonewithacrushontheprofessor , cultural-meetings

If you had to live inside one of the following pictures, which one would you choose?

Choice A:

Pre-War Paris

Choice B:

.... I am going to assume that aside from either the excuse of insanity or... no I really can't think of another excuse, we're all on board with Choice A, yes?

Let's try this one more time. Just to make sure, okay? One more time. You have two choices:

Choice A:

Summer Lawn Party, 1920s

Choice B:

... Honestly, I am not trying to trick you. Once again, unless you are crazy, we're good with Choice A, yes?

All right then. I'm ju ...more

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Lilo Kelly wrote: "Nor did I suggest it would be. However, it was a world that did find ways to move on (even if it took until 1989 or later) and a lot of ...more
Aug 03, 2015 10:56AM

Kelly Possible! I haven't read enough Zweig to know but the continent was devastated. It makes sense people wouldn't want to go back.
Aug 03, 2015 11:10AM

Aug 03, 2015 Ted rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-of-ideas , memoirs , history-ww-i , history-europe , read-in-australia , multiple-reads , classics , place , reviews-most-liked

This is a poignant portrait of a "world of yesterday", specifically the world of turn-of-the century Vienna, and of European culture prior to the First World War. Stefan Zweig was born in Vienna in 1881, and was thus a young man during the decade preceding the War. His family was well off, and he was brought up surrounded by culture of every kind. He is now a writer mostly forgotten, but one who was judged in the 1920s and 1930s to be one of the most famous writers in the world. He was well acqu This is a poignant portrait of a "world of yesterday", specifically the world of turn-of-the century Vienna, and of European culture prior to the First World War. Stefan Zweig was born in Vienna in 1881, and was thus a young man during the decade preceding the War. His family was well off, and he was brought up surrounded by culture of every kind. He is now a writer mostly forgotten, but one who was judged in the 1920s and 1930s to be one of the most famous writers in the world. He was well acquainted with, and close friends of, many of the eminent writers and artists of Europe.

Zweig's writing is superb, and his reminiscences are profound, and profoundly moving. For example, on pages 139-146 of the edition pictured here Zweig writes movingly of his friendship with the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke in Paris. And in the penultimate chapter, " Incipit Hitler", his description of Hitler's rise conveys in thirty pages more insight and illumination than I have seen in major histories of the time.

This was the last of many books that Zweig wrote, being published shortly before he and his second wife committed suicide in Brazil in 1942. It is ostensibly his autobiography, but it is really more the story of an age than the story of a man. Zweig originally intended to call the book Three Lives , referring to the three time periods that had comprised his life: the Vienna that he grew up and matured in; the Great War, and the inter-war period, during which he dealt with the loss of the dreams of human progress that he had had as a young man before the War; and finally the advent of Hitler and the outbreak of the second World War.

Zweig says of the European mood in the early years of the century " ... I pity those that were not young during those last years of confidence in Europe ... each one of us derived strength from the common upswing of the time and increased his individual confidence out of the collective confidence ... whoever experienced that epoch ... knows that all since has been retrogression and gloom." That was written of course near the end of his life. Nevertheless, the inter war period was when Zweig's career bloomed. Those such as Zweig who had survived the war (and those too young to have found it an annihilator of dreams) found that European art and culture in the 1920s, having lost the pre-war air of optimistic progress, was nevertheless vibrant with new, more sobering, ideas.

Zweig always viewed himself, not as an Austrian Jew, but as a European. (The subtitle of the book in the original German was Memoirs of a European .) When the lights began going out all over Europe for a second time in the mid 1930s, Zweig essentially became stateless, moving to England, then to America, and finally to his last destination in South America.

I can't say enough about this book. I first read it decades ago, eventually lost the book, then found a few years ago that it was still (or perhaps once again) in print, and read it a second time. If you have any interest in the history of European culture of a hundred years ago, read it! You won't be sorry, though you might be a bit affected by the sense of profound loss that Zweig himself felt so keenly. ...more

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Aug 16, 2015 Kalliope rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography , austro-hungary , history-european , history , ww-i , ww-2

Several reviews have been written recently by my GRFriends on this book. To mention just a few, we have already those wonderful ones by: Kris , Elena , Yann , Garima ..

There is therefore very little I can add. I will just write down a few thoughts.

I was struck that these memoirs contained a lot less about himself than I would have expected. And although he follows the chronology of his lifetime, he does not give many dates, nor does he refer to many external or even personal events. There is certa ...more

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Ellie Excellent review. I loved this book, and the stories I have read so far. Zweig is a wonderful writer.
Aug 17, 2015 07:04AM

Kalliope Ellie wrote: "Excellent review. I loved this book, and the stories I have read so far. Zweig is a wonderful writer."

Thank you, Ellie... Yes, this is a ...more
Aug 17, 2015 07:11AM

Sep 08, 2014 Hadrian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir , german , nonfiction

I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it. But I will say, he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace!
-Mr. Mustafa, The Grand Budapest Hotel

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to see the most recent Wes Anderson movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel . Though my lowly opinion of his work had whipped back and forth from brilliant emotional set pieces to stuffy kitsch, this most recent movie had thankfully one of amazement, of gratitude, and loss.

The plot of the mov ...more

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Feb 27, 2014 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd been having trouble settling into a string of novels, too impatient and restless and dissatisifed even with Tolstoy's Resurrection , zoning out, not looking forward to reading at all. Finally I said screw it and grabbed Zweig's memoir. By the time I'd made it through his preface it was like he'd administered a heaping dose of just what I need into my unsettled reading organ. I really did feel immediately healed, wanting nothing other than to settle down with Zweig's flowing sentences, his sel I'd been having trouble settling into a string of novels, too impatient and restless and dissatisifed even with Tolstoy's Resurrection , zoning out, not looking forward to reading at all. Finally I said screw it and grabbed Zweig's memoir. By the time I'd made it through his preface it was like he'd administered a heaping dose of just what I need into my unsettled reading organ. I really did feel immediately healed, wanting nothing other than to settle down with Zweig's flowing sentences, his self-effacing charm, his belief in the primacy of art as protection for humanity. For a memoir covering his days of early education to 1939, a few years before his suicide in Brazil, he so rarely talks about himself or his family -- there's a mention of trying to apply for a license to marry his second wife in England right as England declares war on Germany, but no mention of a first wife. No mention of kids. Hardly a mention of his parents, other than a bit at the beginning and a bit at the end about his mother. This isn't a personal memoir at all, really, but a cultural/artistic one. Zero gossip, even if he namedrops Rilke, Rodin, Gide, Joyce, Freud, Richard Strauss, Romain Rolland (who he considers the best of the best and who now seems wildly underread). Zweig's a little like a Zelig character, except Zweig at the time is as famous as those he's with. The portraits of Rodin (great artists are always the kindest, he says -- he also shows Rodin go into such an OCD trance while working on a sculpture that he forgets young Zweig is even in the room) and the stiff, bitter polylinguist James Joyce during WWI in Zurich as he's working on Ulysses are worth the price of admission. But more so it's the gravitas, the horrorshow, the heft, the drastic real-life poignancy of the loss of old European security. Forever everyone has remarked -- most recently, the poet known by the nickname Biggie -- that things done changed , but the change experienced by Zweig, Vienna, and Europe in general from the 1890s to 1939 is drastic. Zweig's storytelling skills make it all seem like a consistent forward flow into the abyss -- the days of security and complacency and the primacy of art, lit, music, and theater, give way to enthusiasm for the first World War (a completely unnecessary consequence of international saber-rattling/posturing) to post-war horrors, poverty, runaway inflation, to a period of experimentation and youthful reflowering coinciding with a rage for order that leads to protofascist glimmerings, brownshirts, the rise of the secretly well-funded National Socialists, political deceit, and crimes against humanity. The Nazis are the antithesis of Zweig's apolitical pan-European humanism. He's able to write a letter to his number one fan in Italy (Mussolini) to get someone's sentence lightened, but he can't change history once it's goosestepping toward Hades. He retreats, goes into exile, and writes biographies subtly critiquing the contemporary political situation. He works with Strauss who works with the Nazis -- and Hitler himself even lets an opera with a libretto written by the Jew Zweig be performed. (It rarely comes up, but Zweig is a totally assimilated Viennese Jew.) He didn't collaborate with the Nazis so much as try to preserve the primacy of art when faced with deathheads. It's the sort of book that makes you aware of the sweep of history we've lived through -- the comparatively quiet yet totally disruptive technological revolution of the past 17 years or so, the artistic and cultural plate tectonics that slowly but surely rearrange the continents over time. I read this purposefully before reading The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig and I'm glad I did. I look forward to seeing echoes of everything covered in this memoir in his fiction, and I'll also probably get to a biography about him to learn a bit about his personal life. Zweig doesn't have the reputation of Mann and Musil or Proust or those early 20th century uberdogs, and that's most likely because he's a centrist who's so very balanced aesthetically and intellectually. Also, unlike Mann and Musil, his books were suppressed and/or burned and therefore unread in Germany for a while there. His writing and thinking are so accessible and he sold millions of copies as a result but he never dumbs things down. The few pages where he talks about his writing process were illuminating: he apparently wrote 800 pages and whittled them to the 200 necessary pages, always interested in pace, since he identified himself as a restless reader. Anyway, I'll try to fill this out with some quotations and other thoughts later. ...more

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Perkinsmike I've struggled to get into Zweig's fiction. His style is nice, but the subject matter feels claustrophobic, such as the story of the lady in waiting b ...more
Feb 07, 2015 10:50AM

Seemita Incisive review of an author whose writing style I utterly adore! Thank you for this penning, Lee.
May 12, 2015 08:18AM

Aug 12, 2014 Erwin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Erwin by: Kalliope

Shelves: autobiography , classics , world-war-1 , european-lit

This memoir is an exceptionally beautiful piece of art and literature! Stefan Zweig takes his readers on a journey of a lifetime (literally too). He succeeds to capture the Zeitgeist of more than half a century (and what a time indeed: the final years of the 19th century, the Great War and the years leading up to the Second World War) and makes it come alive. It was hard to put the book down before going to sleep at nights. I regretted Having to leave the book untouched for days because of work ...more

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Jul 07, 2014 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone interested in memoirs, European history

Recommended to Sue by: Kris

Shelves: austria , bio-memoir , history , germany , wwi , wwii , read-2014 , favorites

I have delayed writing this review in hopes that some inspiration will come (perhaps writing it for me) but no, I do have to perform the task from my own brain. This is perhaps one of the most melancholy memoirs I've read. While Zweig provides an often golden-hued picture of the Europe of his youth, the turn of the century Vienna of the final years of the Hapsburg Empire, he also tells us of his (sometimes impersonal) memories of life in Austria during and after The Great War, the years of terri ...more

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Arnie Outstanding review!!! Thank you. I agree with William re the movie. Enjoy the DVD.
Jul 08, 2014 07:58PM

Sue Arnie wrote: "Outstanding review!!! Thank you. I agree with William re the movie. Enjoy the DVD."

Thanks Arnie. I appreciate your comment so much and I ...more
Jul 08, 2014 08:05PM

Apr 14, 2014 Elena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On Stefan Zweig, "Die Welt von gestern": I just put the book down a few moments ago. Normally I like to marinate in a text a while before commenting. Zweig, unlike Thomas Mann, wrote in a spontaneous, fluid, conversational, druckreif style, and deserves an immediate unlabored impression. And the impression is one of overwhelming loss. In fact he lost his world twice. Reading this in 2014, exactly 100 years since his world fell apart the first time, makes me realize how fragile our culture is. Zw On Stefan Zweig, "Die Welt von gestern": I just put the book down a few moments ago. Normally I like to marinate in a text a while before commenting. Zweig, unlike Thomas Mann, wrote in a spontaneous, fluid, conversational, druckreif style, and deserves an immediate unlabored impression. And the impression is one of overwhelming loss. In fact he lost his world twice. Reading this in 2014, exactly 100 years since his world fell apart the first time, makes me realize how fragile our culture is. Zweig brings to life the optimism of 1900, new technology, new art, new wealth...and Vienna was the center for painting, music, and literature. When my father was born, Vienna was still the capital of a multinational powerful empire with an emperor, Franz Josef, who wore elaborate regalia and took part in medieval-style processions and ceremonies. The world Zweig grew up in had this seemingly solid imperial foundation, and was generous enough in spirit to support a vibrant explosion of new creative styles in the arts, much of which still seems modern to us today. Zweig was already writing seriously in high school, and published his work to great acclaim in his early twenties. He was friends with Theodor Herzl who published his work in Die neue freie Presse. He also befriended Rilke, another very young and successful author. He obviously had a gift for friendship and created a buoyant kind of intellectual life for himself. Between his family's wealth and his own literary earnings, he had the financial means to buffer his life against the tragedy of World War I which destroyed the Habsburg empire. Instead of military service he worked in the Archives, sort of alternative service. In 1917 bought a lovely old palace on a hill in Salzburg, and spent the worst of the war years over the border. He came home to Salzburg and experienced the horrible privations in the aftermath of the Versailles Treaty. In his little Salzburg mini-castle (Paschinger Schloessl) he wrote some of his best works, and regained his lost world. He became one of the most celebrated writers in the world. On his fiftieth birthday his editor Kippenberg (also Rilke's) gave him a thick catalog listing all of his publications in various editions and translations. While he regained his lost world, not everyone in the German-speaking world recovered from the humiliations at the end of the Great War. There were signs of trouble, but Zweig could not believe that Europeans would repeat the tragedy of 1914. He used his wealth to acquire a famous collection of manuscripts by great literary and musical geniuses, Mozart, Beethoven etc. He specialized in early drafts that showed the original burst of creative thought before it gets reworked and polished. I see this as a reflection of his own spontaneous nature. Meanwhile he records the ominous signs of Nazi influence in small but telling details. Unemployed youths are suddenly wearing expensive uniforms and dashing around town in shiny new automobiles: where does this money come from, and where are these hired guns going? He collaborates with Richard Strauss on an opera, Die schweigsame Frau, and it gets banned because he is from a Jewish background. He leaves for England and enjoys the conversation of his exiled friend Sigmund Freud. His works are all banned in the German language territories, and are only available abroad in pale translations. He went from being one of the most widely read authors of both fiction and nonfiction (numerous biographies) to a nobody, stateless, vulnerable. His recovered-world was gone again, this time forever. In exile in Brazil, he committed suicide soon after completing this heartbreaking memoir, essentially if indirectly murdered by Hitler. I cannot imagine what he went through. The book is written in a calm, even, factual style. Even today, Zweig has not yet recovered his reputation and readership in the United States, although the Germans are rediscovering him. There is no way to put this all right, of course. The world of yesterday is gone, but it helps to recover his stories, his talent for friendship, generosity, his sense of civility, and his love of music and literature. And learn a few lessons in the process. ...more

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Elena Fionnuala wrote: "This is a lovely tribute to Stefan Zweig, Elena, and you remind us all that our lives and the things we take for granted are really ...more
May 13, 2014 09:06AM

Kalliope Elena, we have created a Thread for the reviews of TWOY. Please do post a link to your review... I will visit them when I am finished with the memoirs ...more
Jun 11, 2014 01:16AM

May 09, 2015 Sawsan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

نص رائع... مذكرات الأديب النمسوي ستيفان زفايج وحنين لعالم الأمس, عالم الأمن والسلام الذي عاشه قبل الحرب العالمية الأولى
الحياة العامرة بالكتب والشعر والمسرح والموسيقى والأصدقاء والمناقشات والسفر
الكتاب ليس مجرد سيرة لحياة واحد من أشهر الكُتاب باللغة الألمانية, لكنه أيضا عرض لفترة مهمة في تاريخ أوروبا من نهاية القرن التاسع عشر إلى عام 1941, يشمل الجوانب السياسية والحربية والثقافية والاجتماعية, وتحليل دقيق للأسباب التي أدت إلى الحربين العالميتين والفرق بينهما
رصد للحياة الأدبية والفنية, ومواقف وأعما نص رائع... مذكرات الأديب النمسوي ستيفان زفايج وحنين لعالم الأمس, عالم الأمن والسلام الذي عاشه قبل الحرب العالمية الأولى
الحياة العامرة بالكتب والشعر والمسرح والموسيقى والأصدقاء والمناقشات والسفر
الكتاب ليس مجرد سيرة لحياة واحد من أشهر الكُتاب باللغة الألمانية, لكنه أيضا عرض لفترة مهمة في تاريخ أوروبا من نهاية القرن التاسع عشر إلى عام 1941, يشمل الجوانب السياسية والحربية والثقافية والاجتماعية, وتحليل دقيق للأسباب التي أدت إلى الحربين العالميتين والفرق بينهما
رصد للحياة الأدبية والفنية, ومواقف وأعمال وصور لحياة مبدعين فنانين وأدباء من أصدقائه, وغيرهم الكثير ممن عايشهم والتقى بهم أو قرأ أعمالهم.

تشعر معه بالحزن والأسى وهو يصف اليوم الذي بدأت فيه الحرب الأولى, وجهوده هو وغيره من الأدباء لمناهضة الحرب وإدانة القتل والدمار
بعد انتهاء الحرب الأولى وما نتج عنها من انهيار وكساد وفوضى, وبعيدا عن التعصب والعداوات حاول استعادة عالمه المفقود بمواصلة كتاباته ونشاطاته الأدبية وأسفاره
وبعد سنوات وبوصول هتلر للحكم في ألمانيا بدأت مرحلة التشرد في حياة زفايج, رحيله من النمسا إلى انجلترا وأمريكا ثم إلى الوجهة الأخيرة البرازيل
وفي ذروة الحرب العالمية الثانية وحزنه لتمزق ودمار أوروبا, واستنزاف كل ما لديه من طاقة وأمل, أنهى حياته هو وزوجته بالانتحار عام 1942, متمنيا في رسالته الأخيرة لأصدقائه أن يتسنى لهم رؤية الفجر بعد هذا الليل الطويل
مذكرات انسانية وموضوعية بعيدة عن التحيز والانفعال- كتبها زفايج بأسلوبه الهادئ الذي يتميز بدقة الملاحظة وفهم النفس البشرية - تعيش فيها معه كل ما مر به من أحوال وأحداث وتجارب
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Jun 10, 2014 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As with many of the books I read with a group, I'm having a hard time writing a review for this. My GR friends' reviews of this work are so good that anything more feels superfluous. So, because this is a memoir, I've decided to use that as inspiration to review my own impressions.

My first conscious memory of Zweig is very recent, from when I read Kris' review of this same work. My brain made a connection of the name Zweig with the Woody Allen movie Zelig (not that I've seen it). Knowing the pre As with many of the books I read with a group, I'm having a hard time writing a review for this. My GR friends' reviews of this work are so good that anything more feels superfluous. So, because this is a memoir, I've decided to use that as inspiration to review my own impressions.

My first conscious memory of Zweig is very recent, from when I read Kris' review of this same work. My brain made a connection of the name Zweig with the Woody Allen movie Zelig (not that I've seen it). Knowing the premise of the movie, I thought there couldn't possibly be any real connection between the two. Yet, the more I read of Zweig's encounters with the famous -- artists of all kind and those involved in politics as well -- I rethought myself again, especially after reading of Zweig's car ride with his friend Rathenau before that friend, the Foreign Minister of Germany, was shot in the same car traveling in the same streets on another day.

Speaking of movies ... as with many of us 'bandwagon' Zweig readers, I was reminded I wanted to read him after seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel . I read Chess Story first and found nothing in it to account for his being Wes Anderson's inspiration. I thought the same of TWoY initially but, as I read on, ah, yes, there were the echoes: a train journey that is tense but papers are happily recognized; a secretive chain reaction of sub-agents; crude brutal Nazi occupiers; official papers that end up meaning nothing; a note slipped into a pocket that must be destroyed.

Translations are understandably looked upon as inferior to the work in its original language, but without those translations, Zweig's works may have been completely lost to the world, as they were proscribed (a word used quite often in this book and one I imagine Zweig hating) in Hitler's Europe. While some passages read at a perfect breathless pace, I wasn't always thrilled with the prose: a bit too many passive-voice sentences with numerous subordinate clauses that I needed to reread to get at the meaning. The final paragraph I reread for its poignancy.

Since I recently finished The Divine Comedy , I couldn't help thinking of Dante's forced exile from his beloved Florence. For both writers, exile was a form of death, stripping them of their heritage and their identity. Zweig was ultimately cut off, not just from Vienna, not just from Austria, but from the whole of Europe -- particularly hard on him as, above all, he considered himself a European. ...more

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Mar 01, 2015 Lynne King rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-books-to-read , autobiography , austria , germany , memoirs , top-favourite-books

On this link is the definitive review, I feel, by Kris and the reason why I read this book in the first place:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is the most wonderful book imaginable. I really cannot say anything further.

How can I possibly expound being a mere mortal on what this individual went through in his life and then finally to commit suicide with his wife in a joint pact. Such philosophical thoughts. It's mind blowing.

An absolutely remarkable book. I actually confess to being h ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Florencia Brino rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historyland , non-fiction , german-austrian , read-in-groups-or-kind-of , dear-diary-memoir-letter

...after all, shadows themselves are born of light.

...toda sombra es, al fin y al cabo, hija de la luz.
- Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday/El Mundo de Ayer

There are people that breathe nostalgia every day. They enjoy it, they suffer it. They stare at some object and a million memories come to mind. People, friends, lovers, happiness, regrets. They are usually looking back wishing for the past to become present. For that little part of the world they knew and that it felt much safer than t ...more

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Jun 12, 2014 Yann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: germanie , biographie , world-wars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Le Monde d’hier est un ouvrage autobiographique du nouvelliste et biographe autrichien Stefan Zweig. C’est un auteur pour lequel j’ai une affection particulière, car il m’a donné le goût de la lecture alors que je ne lisais jamais. Ses nouvelles, courtes, écrites simplement, n’effraient pas le néophyte. Son style, prenant et nerveux, soutient l’attention du lecteur. Ses biographies, érudites et vivantes, éveillent la curiosité et excitent le plaisir d’apprendre. Je ne connaissais que très sommai

Le Monde d’hier est un ouvrage autobiographique du nouvelliste et biographe autrichien Stefan Zweig. C’est un auteur pour lequel j’ai une affection particulière, car il m’a donné le goût de la lecture alors que je ne lisais jamais. Ses nouvelles, courtes, écrites simplement, n’effraient pas le néophyte. Son style, prenant et nerveux, soutient l’attention du lecteur. Ses biographies, érudites et vivantes, éveillent la curiosité et excitent le plaisir d’apprendre. Je ne connaissais que très sommairement sa vie, en particulier son suicide au Brésil en plein milieu de la seconde guerre mondiale, alors que l’Allemagne nazi semble au fait de sa puissance.

Dans le monde d’hier, Zweig revient sur son expérience personnelle de ce que furent les changement considérables que l’Europe a connu depuis la fin du dix-neuvième siècle, dans les techniques, les mœurs, la politique. Il évoque les bouleversements qu’ont entraîné la guerre, la crise économique, et de la montée du nazisme. Mais il aborde également sa vie personnelle, sa jeunesse, ses goûts, ses passions. Sa fortune le laissant libre de disposer de son temps, il l’emploie à son amour pour la poésie, il traduit des poètes en allemand, il collectionne des originaux, il se passionne pour la psychologie, et il sillonne l’Europe, se liant aux artistes de toutes les capitales, goûtant au plaisir de s’encanailler au milieu flottant et délicieux des artistes et de la bohème. Avec quel amour simple, quelle tendresse nostalgique, quel émerveillement candide il évoque Berlin, Londres, et Paris qui l’enchantent ! C’est pourquoi la première guerre mondiale lui apparaît d’autant plus incompréhensible qu’il a tissé tant d’amitié chez ceux qui sont devenus en l’espace d’un instant des ennemis.

J’ai trouvé très intéressante sa descriptions de la guerre côté autrichien, des difficultés économiques du monde germanique pendant l’entre deux guerres que je connaissais assez mal. Très touchant également ses louables efforts pour promouvoir la paix et l’amitié entre les peuples en Europe. Mais ce que j’ai trouvé de plus poignant, c’est finalement lorsqu’il réalise l’amour qu’il porte à son pays lorsqu’il le quitte dans ces circonstances terribles, alors qu’il est parvenu à s’enfuir à temps du piège brutal et atrocement cynique tendu par les nazis : Souvent, dans mes rêves de cosmopolite, je m'étais secrètement représenté combien il devait être délicieux et, à vrai dire, conforme à mes sentiments les plus intimes d'être sans nationalité, de n'avoir d'obligations envers aucun pays et, de ce fait, d'appartenir indistinctement à tous. Mais une fois de plus je dus reconnaître combien notre imagination humaine est insuffisante et que l'on ne comprend vraiment les sentiments les plus importants, justement, que quand on les a éprouvés soi-même. Des mots qui font frissonner. Ressentant avec douleur la fragile condition d’apatride et d’exilé, il réalise son erreur. Son rêve cosmopolite s’évanouit lentement dans une réalité qui vire au cauchemar. Son évocation de Herzl, de l’affaire Dreyfus, comme la défense de son ami Freud, sont éloquents et donnent à réfléchir.

On n’échappe guère à ces cruelles vérités que nous montrent ces hommes pessimistes, Thucydide, Machiavel, ou Hobbes, que le fort fait ce qu’il peut et que le faible subit ce qu’il doit subir, que l’homme est un loup pour l’homme. Toutes ces maximes désagréables à entendre et à concevoir ne font que nous rappeler à la prudence, à la vigilance et à la rectitude. Il ne suffit pas d’être placide, d’ignorer les iniquités et les souffrances, de s’isoler dans une petite bulle de luxe et de culture, en se berçant de l’illusion que rien ne changera jamais, ou qu’il sera toujours aisé d’aller ailleurs si les choses tournent mal. Il faut, avant qu’il ne soit trop tard, être capable de volonté et de courage, de refuser l’injustice et la complaisance pour le mal, de résister à l’intimidation et à l’oppression. Zweig, par son éducation raffinée, protégée et privilégiée, par sa sensiblerie mal réglée qui le conduisait à prendre, par répugnance indistincte de la violence, de l’indiscipline et du bruit, la défense du vaincu plutôt que celle du juste, comme il le fait dans ses biographies, était bien mal préparé aux nouvelles circonstances. Un témoignage très émouvant, sincère et édifiant.
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Oct 31, 2007 lisa_emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Weimerophiles

Shelves: biographies-memoirs , vienna-history

Zweig's name is no longer recognized as a major writer now, although he was the most translated author during his heyday. He was friends with some of the most well-known names of culture and intelligentsia: Rilke, Freud, Richard Strauss, Maksim Gorky and so on. He penned a wide variety of works from biographical studies to novellas and operas. World of Yesterday, however, is his memoir, published after his suicide of 1942.
I was initially attracted to this book because of my current interest in t Zweig's name is no longer recognized as a major writer now, although he was the most translated author during his heyday. He was friends with some of the most well-known names of culture and intelligentsia: Rilke, Freud, Richard Strauss, Maksim Gorky and so on. He penned a wide variety of works from biographical studies to novellas and operas. World of Yesterday, however, is his memoir, published after his suicide of 1942.
I was initially attracted to this book because of my current interest in turn-of-the-century Vienna.

However, after reading WoY, new doors of inquiry have opened in my mind. I saw Vienna in its pivotal historical moment, inhabiting a crossroads where decisions were made (not only by politicians, but also by ordinary people who chose to turn away their heads) that affected Europe's course. Zweig lived during an incredibly tumultuous time; not only was culture brimming with prospects, but ideas were spilling forth and co-mingling in literature, music, visual arts and philosophy. Zweig travelled across Europe- writing, thinking and meeting other great artists. He writes of a moment he was privileged to witness the creative fire in Rodin. He speaks fondly of his encounters with Rilke- a gentle, sensitive man. And he gives a picture of Europe before the two great wars. He expresses his disappointment of Europe's change after WWI- and the horrors which befell Vienna right before WWII.

This is an amazing read- and after reading it I became more fascinated by this man who lived through all experiences, in fact, I went a bought a few more books on him!
I also saw a connection between what happened in Vienna and what could possibly happen here in the US- it is a warning. Although this memoir greatly informs, there is a strange elusive quality to Zweig. He does not really let you in, for example, as you are reading- all of a sudden, there is a wife! Who is this wife? What is her name? How did they meet? He never tells you- nor does he tell you that this marriage ends and as he is about to leave England for Brazil, he gets married to another woman. Nor does he reveal what internal processes he undergoes, nor does he reveal some insight of why he has become the person he is. No matter- I guess one can read other biographies on Zweig to get these answers (there is one penned by his first wife, Frederika).
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Jul 07, 2014 Diane Barnes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-one

This book is a memoir not of Stefan Zweig and his life, but rather of a magical time before WWI, and the dawning of the new world ushered in between the two greatest wars of the 20th century. Beautifully written and heartbreakingly honest, but hard to read knowing that the author and his wife took their lives in 1942, believing that the world had truly gone mad and there was no hope for civilization. I really wanted to give this 5 stars, but just couldn't do it, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'll ...more

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Teresa I really wanted to give this 5 stars, but just couldn't do it, and I'm not sure why.

I felt the same way, Diane.
Jul 07, 2014 05:09PM

Kalliope I also felt that this was less about himself and more about the world he had witnessed, hence the title he chose.

I also tried to read it pushing to th ...more
Jul 07, 2014 11:56PM

none I'm glad you liked this book too. He seemed to capture a time that would have been hard to see end. Thanks for the review.
Sep 27, 2014 02:45PM

Sep 30, 2015 averybiird rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1900-1949 , europe , biography-memoir , favorites

Stefan Zweig. First Trip to Brazil, 1936.

I enjoyed reading the memoirs of Stefan Zweig and found his eyewitness accounts of life in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries both fascinating and revealing. He speaks of the stability that older generations had taken for granted becoming unrecognizable during the turbulent decades of World War I and beyond. I’ve always been curious about this period in history, when the arrival of new technology like the automobile, telegraph, and aeroplan

Stefan Zweig. First Trip to Brazil, 1936.

I enjoyed reading the memoirs of Stefan Zweig and found his eyewitness accounts of life in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries both fascinating and revealing. He speaks of the stability that older generations had taken for granted becoming unrecognizable during the turbulent decades of World War I and beyond. I’ve always been curious about this period in history, when the arrival of new technology like the automobile, telegraph, and aeroplane pushed the world headfirst into modernity. New forms of art and literature were also being developed that were a radical departure from the past. I felt like Zweig was living a firsthand account of events as they transpired, sharing his best impressions with the reader.

As a writer living in Vienna, Zweig was part of an incredibly rich circle of artists and writers. Amazingly, he shared deep personal friendships with several notable men of the time (Freud, Rilke, Verhaeren, Rodin, and the composer Richard Strauss among others) and brings them into focus through real life anecdotes. He also speaks about the political climate of Europe around the time of the First World War and was witness to the madness that overwhelmed the continent at that time. After the war hyperinflation swept in and ruined Austrian and later German economies, setting the stage for the rise of fascism. Because he was Jewish, when Hitler came to power his work was banned and he was forced into exile, his previous life and accomplishments completely ruined.

As I read this book I found myself growing fond of Stefan Zweig the man, even as he shied away from discussing the more personal aspects of his life (such as his two marriages or discussions of his own fiction). Zweig himself is certainly always present in the narrative but rarely the star; rather he takes on the role of observer of events and other people’s art. Yet paradoxically, despite the lack of private detail, I still felt as if I came to know a good deal of the man while reading this book- his kindness towards others, belief in humanist values, and the romantic sensibility that colored his worldview all shined through. In a way his modesty was part of his charm. But even so, I feel a companion biography such as Three Lives A Biography of Stefan Zweig would be worthwhile to help illuminate other facets of his life.

On a final note I am so glad to see Zweig’s work being read again by an international audience and especially being published once more in his native German. In the memoir you can sense his despair at being silenced by the fascists. The devastation must have been immense, as is clear from his choice to end his life in 1942. I think he would be happy to see so many people reacquainting themselves with his work. I hope others will visit the Stefan Zweig Group on Goodreads and consider joining in.

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Jul 18, 2014 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On reading this book, my first thought is that this is much more than a biography. It is a portrait of an era and a love letter to Stefan Zweig’s beloved Europe; written after he was forced into exile by the onslaught of fascism. However, the book begins with Zweig growing up in Austria, prior to WWI, in, what he terms, the Golden Age of Security. Austria seemed to have a stable government and consistency in the Habsburg monarchy. There was a sense of order and everyone knew their place in socie On reading this book, my first thought is that this is much more than a biography. It is a portrait of an era and a love letter to Stefan Zweig’s beloved Europe; written after he was forced into exile by the onslaught of fascism. However, the book begins with Zweig growing up in Austria, prior to WWI, in, what he terms, the Golden Age of Security. Austria seemed to have a stable government and consistency in the Habsburg monarchy. There was a sense of order and everyone knew their place in society. Despite Zweig’s remembrances being a little rose-tinted, there are hints that not all was perfect. He admits to finding school pointless and dreary, complains about the lack of natural relationships between men and women and sneers at the duellists at university. Throughout the book, Zweig’s love is for literature and he opts to study philosophy not out of any love for the subject, but because he believes it will inconvenience him the least and leave him time to write.

There are many portraits of other authors, musicians and artists in this book. Zweig suggests that European Jewry saw their support of the arts as a way in which they could make their mark and find a niche for themselves – other avenues, like the army, being virtually barred to them. Luckily, it was an area he adored and he spent much of his time collecting memorabilia from those he admired. He writes of the unrest leading up to WWI and recalls how the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was greeted without distress, as he was generally unpopular. Zweig is always utterly honest in his writing, admitting, “there is nothing heroic in my nature,” and that he had a perfectly natural desire to evade dangerous situations. That said, he procured a post in the library at the War Archives, where he wrote movingly of his desire for a united Europe. He always resisted war and hatred and found Austria a different place after the war, with no Kaiser, financial chaos and raging inflation.

He also writes about his travels; to Paris, Berlin, London, India, America, Italy and a fascinating account of his visit to Russia. When Zweig asked his Russian publisher why he had not fled on the outbreak of the revolution, the Russian admitted that he had not believed the situation would last. Along with an anonymous note advising him not to take all he heard and saw at face value, Zweig was much more likely to question when fascism began to rise in Europe, suggesting that people used self deception because of a reluctance to abandon their accustomed life. Still, it made him more aware of the problems ahead. Despite being financially secure and imagining his life was settled, he found he was standing on very unstable ground.

Although the decade after the war was enjoyable for Stefan Zweig, as the 1930’s began, life became more difficult. By 1934, when his friends began to avoid him and he suffered the indignity of having his house searched, Zweig left for London, where he stayed for some years. Although he returned to Austria in 1937, he found nobody was prepared to listen to his warnings and it is obvious that, during this time, he felt terrible despair. In his fifties, he found himself homeless, stateless and with the possibility of becoming an enemy alien, if England went to war with Germany.

Despite much of Zweig’s musings being both moving and, at times, deeply saddened by events in his beloved Austria, this is by no means a depressing book. It is filled with anecdotes of literary and artistic life, of travel and his delight of discovery and friendship. At all times, Zweig is humane, intelligent and understanding company. If you have any interest in Europe, especially around the time of the first world war, this will present you with a vibrant and enticing portrait of a lost world. It is obvious that it’s loss saddened Zweig and that he was unable to come to terms with life as an exile – sadly committing suicide in Brazil in 1942. His death was a tragic loss to literature and it is wonderful that his books are now being translated into English. According to Zweig, his books never received much success in England, but that was surely our loss and it is wonderful that his work is now being rediscovered.

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Jun 11, 2011 Fahad rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction , favorites

عالم الأمس

لو كان هناك قانون يجرم الذين يعيشون حياة مليئة من الأدباء والسياسيين، الاقتصاديين والعلماء، الباحثين وغيرهم، ثم لا يكتبون عن هذه الحياة، لا يحولون تجاربهم إلى كلمات، لو كان هذا القانون موجودا ً لربما كان أكثر المدانين من العرب.

فالعرب ولا فخر مقلون في كتابة السيرة الذاتية، بعكس الغربيين والذين تجد لمشاهيرهم سير متعددة، بل لديهم كتاب سير متخصصين.

وهذا ما كانه (ستيفان زفايج) في جزء من أعماله، كاتب سير ذاتية، كتب عن بلزاك، ديكنز، دستويفسكي، نيتشه، ستاندال، تولستوي، وها هو في هذا الكتاب ا ...more

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Jul 16, 2015 Joachim Stoop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Lang niet meer zo vol geweest van een boek! Stefan Zweig voltooide deze autobiografie in 1942: het jaar waarin hij in de schaduw van Hitler's waanzin uiteindelijk ook zelfmoord pleegde. De wijze, warme, wonderlijke beschrijving van zijn leven schetst het leven in Wenen eind 19e eeuw, de verwoestende slag die WOI toediende aan de harmonische droom van een eensgezind, vredevol Europa -waarin Zweig een fundamentele rol vertolkte, daarna een tijd van inflatie en recapitulatie in het interbellum, tot ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 AC rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-21st-century , modernism , vienna , fascism

I was somewhat disappointed in this one, and ended up skipping around a lot. This old (and anonymous) translation is stiff and quite unappealing, and while there are certainly many interesting stories, there is also a looseness in the prose and the book runs on a bit verbosely.

There are some very interesting insights in the Hitler chapter, but Zweig soon escaped and lived in relative peace, and so was not the best witness (as he admits) for the events he subsequently lived through.

He seems to ...more

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Jun 19, 2014 Ellie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction , bio-memoir , european , history , library , 2014indchalnge

Just a few words for now: a review to follow.

This book taught me more about the origins of both World Wars and the time between in Germany and Austria than all the other books I have read, high school courses taken, and movies watched put together. And the impact is intense.

And the knowledge that Zweig could not, in the end, handle his final displacement overwhelmingly sad after feeling so close to him for so many pages and weeks of reading. I can't really comment on the prose from the translati ...more

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Aug 03, 2015 Will rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography , history , ww1-ww2

This memoir moved me deeply, even though at times it seemed as if it was just a wistful look at the good old days. However Zweig, an Austrian Jew, is far more clear-headed and observant than that; and crucially, he knew virtually all of the foremost artists and many of the prominent politicians of the time, so his eyewitness account is unique.

The first half occupies, appropriately, the first half of his life before WW1. He looks back on a privileged existence in Vienna at the end of the 19th ce This memoir moved me deeply, even though at times it seemed as if it was just a wistful look at the good old days. However Zweig, an Austrian Jew, is far more clear-headed and observant than that; and crucially, he knew virtually all of the foremost artists and many of the prominent politicians of the time, so his eyewitness account is unique.

The first half occupies, appropriately, the first half of his life before WW1. He looks back on a privileged existence in Vienna at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. (He says that the Viennese were freer and less rigid than their German cousins but acknowledges that it was still a claustrophobic and sclerotic society that venerated maturity and old age). There are extensive accounts of his friends and friendships (he knew everyone in the artistic community) which veer a bit into adulation. And some, like that of the poet Rilke, would have you rolling your eyes at their affectations “loud sounds would disturb him for days” .
Zweig is a truly cosmopolitan European, at home in every city, though I thought his reaction to pre-war Paris was a bit over the top, as when he recounts how the world of art, society and morals went through a period of liberation. He rhapsodizes, “every young man had a cheerful girlfriend with no prudishness about her” . OK sure, Stefan! But perhaps it did seem like that for someone brought up in stuffy Germanic tradition.
(As an aside, he later has interesting observations on male-female relationships in the 30s and 40s – he notes how much freer and equal they had become compared to the Victorian and pre-war era. And yet we think of the sexual revolution as not beginning until thirty years after that.)
He talks about the wonderful sense of freedom and invigoration that existed in the first years of the 20th century, but with it came a growing sense of unease about the increasing levels of swaggering militarism.

WW1 and after is where TWoY becomes most interesting. Zweig was a pacifist at a time when that was a heroic and dangerous position to take. He spent some time at the front however, working for the War Archives. He writes movingly (this was early in the war before the initial euphoria wore off) about the contrast and disconnect between the cities where life went on almost unchanged and the front where there was nothing but horror. Later, he talks of the same disconnect between Austria where there was now widespread hunger and deprivation, and Switzerland, where just across the border nothing had changed and he could associate freely with the “enemy”, his friends from France.

Zwieg’s insights into the postwar period, especially as it relates to Germany, are simply outstanding. He brings a current perspective that is totally missing from anything else I’ve read.
Austria, which had been completely disillusioned with the war, tried to exit well before 1918; I didn’t know about the collapse of its economy in the immediate postwar years, at a time when he notes that Germany was not affected as much. Zweig tells of Germans pouring across the border to take advantage of low prices. He says (writing in 1942) curiously he doesn’t remember much about how they survived the collapse, but life did go on, and it was not the continuous dire struggle for existence that one would assume.
As to the Treaty of Versailles – he says it was disastrous, of course, but not the direct cause of the later horror in Germany. At the same time he is very clear about the undercurrents of resentment and hostility that were initially masked by a semblance of a return to normality.
The complete collapse of the German economy occurred about three years later in 1922, and was many times worse than the Austrian experience. He believes the panic was triggered by the assassination of his close friend Walter Rathenau, the Foreign Minister
The period following makes difficult reading, knowing now (as he did not) the terrible outcome. He observed that the Germans’ desperate need for order – overturned when debtors were set free and the thrifty ended up with nothing – far outweighed any desire for democracy or freedom.
He chronicles Hitler’s insidious and almost imperceptible rise to power – the quotes I mentioned above are perhaps the most significant and chilling I’ve ever read about how and why it could have happened.

TWoY is strictly a memoir of Zweig’s professional friendships and the political environment he found himself in, and one thing completely missing is anything about his personal life. At one point he says “we” so he must be married; towards the end he mentions preparations for a civil wedding in England, so we infer he must have been divorced too. But after the initial chapters where his family in Vienna are mentioned there is little else.
I would have liked to have had a little more as the overall result is a supremely intelligent and impassioned but somehow bloodless book. I should probably have given it 5 stars anyway.
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Mar 06, 2009 Mikel Mancisidor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Me tuvo fascinado durante semanas: tierno, humano, inteligente, elegante, sabio… un libro que sabe a otra época. Recuerdo que era un autor que le gustaba mucho a mi abuelo y sólo comprendo el porqué ahora que él ya no está aquí para compartirlo. El libro se hace humano hasta sentirlo físicamente casi como un dolor en el alma. Sabiduría de otro tiempo anterior a que el especticismo y el cinismo ganaran. Esperanza en el desastre. Humanismo del siglo XX que nos debe servir para afrontar mejor el XX ...more

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Mar 09, 2009 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history , study-group , u-of-chicago , autobiography , mitteleuropa

A poet, novelist, dramatist and biographer, Stephan Zweig (1881-1942) was a brilliant writer, documenting both historical lives and his own. His non-fiction includes literary biographies that are seldom read today, but The World of Yesterday remains in print and is his personal memoir of growing up in fin de siecle Austria and the early years of the twentieth century. Written the year before he died, the book is a testament to his life - one that was formed in a world before the devastation of t ...more

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Sep 02, 2014 Raúl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Absolutamente maravilloso.Un libro imprescindible y que sigue manteniendo fresco su espíritu después de tantos años desde su publicación. Zweig se revela como un adelantado a su época en este libro autobiográfico.Debería ser de obligada lectura en institutos.

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