This book is dedicated to the “king of reporters,” the master of newspaper sensations Vladimir Alekseevich Gilyarovsky (1855-1935). The most incredible stories, adventures, legends and even hoaxes are associated with the name of this man. During his long life, he changed many professions - he was a barge hauler, a hook-maker, a theater actor, a circus rider and wrestler, a herdsman, he participated in the Russian-Turkish War, but he became famous as a journalist and writer of everyday life, and also a writer of impromptu poems. With his charm, sincerity, sparkling intelligence and humor, he literally attracted people to him. Among his friends were celebrities - A.P. Chekhov, V.Ya. Bryusov, A.A. Blok, F.I. Shalyapin, K.S. Stanislavsky, I.E. Repin, A.K. Savrasov and many others, and not very noticeable people - firefighters, jockeys, clowns and even drunkards from the Khitrov market. It is not for nothing that fame outlived Gilyarovsky by more than eighty years - which journalist can compare with him?