Siegfried Unseld adopts a ceremonial tone in the opening sentence of his first letter to Peter Handke: "I am pleased to inform you that after careful reading of your manuscript, we have decided to take your work on at Suhrkamp Verlag." This letter from August 1965 marks the beginning of a correspondence in which, after nearly 600 letters, Peter Handke congratulates the publisher on his 75th birthday: "You are and have been, like few others, capable of a quiet, benevolent existence and companionship (and swimming ahead)." Over a period of more than 35 years, Peter Handke and Siegfried Unseld discussed what was most important to them in writing: literature and books. The author informed the publisher of his plans, recorded his impressions of the new manuscripts in writing, and they discussed publication dates and the design of books.