An extraordinary collection of stories from the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature - the title story, one of Mann's most political, explores the rise of facism by way of a mysterious magician in a small Italian village.

Mann's short stories explore his abiding interest in the split nature of humanity and the discordance of the world it inhabits. In 'A Man and his Dog', domestic tempests are symbols of the muddle of humanity. In 'The Black Swan', the demands of intellect clash with physical desires. And in 'Mario and the Magician' a young family on holiday in Italy encounters a creepy entertainer: Cipolla, a hypnotist with a fascist-like will to control his audience.

Written between 1918 and 1953, this collection shows the literary development of one of Germany's most important writers.