Heinrich Böll was born in 1917 and died in 1985. He was one of the most important and controversial post-war German writers, not least on account of his exploration of political and social problems in the Federal Republic. In 1972 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Böll's early stories are often considered the most impressive part of his oeuvre and that is clearly attested by their abiding popularity. Originally scattered among a number of publication, the best six have been collected in this volume. These satires probe aspects of post-war Germany with a light, understated humour which has lost none of its effectiveness. Many of the themes presented here remain as topical as when the stories first appeared.