In the three stories "The Invisible Collection," "Episode at Lake Geneva," and "Book Mendel," Stefan Zweig depicts the devastating psychological and material consequences of World War I. Whether it's a blind art collector who has lost his life's work, a grotesquely disoriented Russian soldier, or a Jewish antiquarian from Vienna who can no longer find his way back to his life – they have all survived the war, yet are nonetheless its victims. Additionally, this volume includes the more extensive story "Unexpected Acquaintance with a Craft.".