Collection and Distraction - Intellectual Expeditions of a Great Storyteller. Places, people, images, films, books: Thomas Hettche is not lacking in themes, whose rich narrative work is complemented by a continuous essayistic engagement with the world and perception of the world. The travelogue gathers selected essays and reports by Thomas Hettche from the years 1993 to 2007. It showcases an author who embarks on his explorations with great curiosity and a keen eye. Alongside explorations of Germany since the early 1990s, there are texts about literature in the age of media upheaval and the politicization of a largely apolitical generation in the aftermath of 9/11. Travel reports from places like St. Moritz, Venice, and Krakow engage him just as much as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Lieutenant Ripley, and Piero della Francesca. Hettche surprises us with his subjects.