The memoirs offered to the reader by one of the oldest playwrights and screenwriters in the country, A.D. Simukov (1904–1995), present a broad picture of the life of our society throughout almost the entire 20th century, as well as the author’s reflections on theatrical art and drama. A. Simukov began his literary activity in 1931, having received the blessing of A. M. Gorky, whose magazine published the first stories of the young writer. His plays, mostly cheerful, cheerful comedies, “The Wedding”, “Sunny House, or the Retired Captain”, “Sparrow Hills”, “Beautiful Maidens”, fairy tale plays “Native Land”, “Seven Wizards” and many others were widely staged in theaters across the country, and films based on his scripts (“Magic Grain”, “Chelkash”, “On the Other Side”, “Late Berry” and others) gained wide popularity. In the 60–70s. A. Simukov worked a lot and fruitfully in the field of animation. He is the author of scripts for a whole series of animated films based on ancient Greek mythology, included in the “golden fund” of children's programs: “Return from Olympus”, “Labyrinth”, “Argonauts”, “Perseus”, “Prometheus”, as well as the cartoons “Flying Ship” , “Dobrynya Nikitich”, “Sadko the Rich” and others, loved by more than one generation of viewers. A large section is devoted to the author’s work at the Literary Institute. A. M. Gorky, in which he led a seminar on the problems of modern drama, taught at the Higher Literary Courses and nurtured in the 60s. many young playwrights who received a “start to life” from his hands. He holds the palm in the “discovery” of the talent of Alexander Vampilov and assistance in the professional development of the future classic of Russian drama. The memoirs will undoubtedly be greeted with interest by readers. It is also possible that his thoughts on theater and drama will help young people who have chosen this type of art as their profession to quickly master its secrets. In any case, this was precisely the author’s cherished dream when he was working on his “Notes of a Cheerful One.”