A. Turkov was born in 1924, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute, published since 1944. Author of books about Saltykov-Shchedrin, Chekhov, Blok, Levitan, Kustodiev, Tvardovsky, Zabolotsky, Fyodor Abramov and several collections of critical and journalistic articles. Winner of the "Crown" Prize and the Tvardovsky Prize, awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War, 1st degree. The book covers the period from the 1920-1930s of the last century to the present day and presents the reader with a wide panorama of the social and literary life of Russia. The author writes about many interesting people with which his life confronted him. These are destinies of different sizes - from A. Tvardovsky to the long-suffering “Aunt Stesha” from a distant northern village. A talented researcher of life, observant and subtle psychologist A. Turkov created a book imbued with the undiminished warmth of love and understanding of the complexities of the past century.