The World of Yesterday

The World of Yesterday download this book in pdf for free. Stefan Zweig’s “The World of Yesterday” is an autobiographical work that provides a rich account of life in the Habsburg Empire. Zweig started writing it in 1934, foreseeing the impending Nazi invasion and persecution.

The manuscript was sent to the publisher a day before Zweig and his wife tragically ended their lives in 1942. The memoir paints a vivid picture of early 20th-century Vienna, discussing the education system, sexual morality, and the rise of psychoanalysis. It also reflects on the stability of Viennese society under centuries of Habsburg rule. Zweig fondly refers to this period as a “Golden Age of Security”.