The stories had appeared previously in Weird Tales, Esquire, Argosy, Astounding Stories and other magazines. They were selected by the author and were the ones he considered to be his best at the time. The dust jacket illustration is by the author's brother, Howard Wandrei.
The Eye and the Finger contains the following short stories:
"Introduction"
"The Lady in Gray"
"The Eye and the Finger"
"The Painted Mirror"
"It Will Grow on You"
"The Tree-Men of M'Bwa"
"The Lives of Alfred Kramer"
"The Monster from Nowhere"
"The Witch-Makers"
"The Neverless Man"
"Black Fog"
"The Blinding Shadows"
"The Scientist Divides"
"Earth Minus"
"Finality Unlimited"
"The Crystal Bullet"
"A Fragment of a Dream"
"The Woman at the Window"
"The Messengers"
"The Pursuers"
"The Red Brain"
"On the Threshold of Eternity"
Reception
The New York Times reviewer Marjorie Farber gave the collection a mixed review, saying "If the sole function of a horror story is to horrify, this volume can be safely recommended to all addicts of clear conscience and strong stomach", but that [w]hile conceding genuine effectiveness to most of Mr. Wandrei's scientific and supernatural horrors, . . . I still feel that the effect he produces is sometimes too direct" -- "effective at the time, but not lasting".[3]
Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 26.
Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. pp. 25–26. ISBN0-87054-176-5.
Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 46–47. ISBN0-7864-1785-4.
^Quoted in Don Herron, ""The Red Brain": A Study in Absolute Doom", Studies in Weird Fiction 2 (Summer 1987), p. 32, note 4.
^Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. pp. 25–26. ISBN0-87054-176-5.