Lyudmila Borisovna Chernaya turns 104 years old in December 2021. A long life, despite its apparent desirability, is actually a difficult test. Loneliness among people of other generations, physical illness, and the feeling of the inevitability of death require special courage from a long-liver. However, venerable age has not in the least dampened the clarity of mind, political temperament and sense of humor of the author of this book. “Now I am 103. Two of my thick books have been published. I’m writing a third, although I’m not sure if I’ll finish it. When I work, my hand does not tremble. And when, once every three months, my assistant Lena brings me to Sberbank and I have to sign for my pension, my hands begin to tremble... Miracles...” Perhaps the key to Lyudmila Chernaya’s amazing spiritual youth lies in her capture, fascination with life and self-discipline. The judgments and assessments expressed in the book sometimes sound defiantly sharp - it is all the more interesting to get acquainted with the author’s way of thinking and her perception of current events. Before us is not only evidence of a contemporary of the “short 20th century”, but also, in the words of N. S. Leskov, the phenomenon of “fading nature.” Lyudmila Chernaya (b. 1917) worked as an international journalist, translated fiction (G. Böll, E M. Remarque, A. Döblin, F. Dürrenmatt). Together with her husband, historian D. E. Melamid, she researched the Nazi regime in Germany and wrote a book about Hitler, “Criminal Number 1.” She published the book of memoirs “Slanting Rain” (2015) and the journalistic collection “Notes of an Ordinary Talking Horse” (2018) at UFO.