Vladimir Pozner’s new book, “A Reason for Optimism? Farewells” makes you think. Posner reflects on the most pressing issues of our time, covering them from different angles and emphasizing the connection with current events. What do the bitter lessons of history teach us and are they capable of teaching us anything at all? What is Russia’s place in the modern world, how is it similar and different from the USA, Europe, China? What are the advantages and disadvantages of democracy? Do we need the death penalty? How can the social evil that has become commonplace—corruption, inequality, restriction of freedoms—turn out? The author does not give simple answers or ready-made recipes. He turns to the past, sketches possible scenarios for the future, ironically sharpens current problems and forces the reader to independently look for a solution and draw a conclusion about whether we have reason for optimism. This book is a collection of so-called “farewells”, short final comments to the program “ Pozner", which appeared on Russian television for many years. The publishing layout of the book is preserved in PDF A4 format.