The first book of the autobiographical series “Man and History”, where the author examines his own life in the context of the history of our country, which consists of individual human destinies, stories of families and peoples, merging like streams into a powerful stream of a high-water river. Born on the eve of the Great Patriotic War in the village of Tykali in the Smolensk region, the author began life in the very heat of the war, in occupied territory. Much water has passed under the bridge since then, but the memories do not disappear into the past, do not lose their brightness. Piercing and reverent, they give warmth and the feeling that any return back to the past is already a return home. And it can’t be bad at home, even if there is a war. The tragedy of the time is smoothed out by a child’s gaze; in the story one can see some detachment from the military actions themselves, the exact names and events. But at the same time, everything is extremely clear. This circumstance gives the story credibility, because our hero is too small to give serious assessments of the world around him. The boy simply does not understand how he can live differently, because he was born just two months before the war. Together with his peers, he happily plays in the trenches, collects not only mushrooms and berries, but also lemon grenades, deftly pulling out pins and exploding them , tickling your nerves. Here, children of war master the basics of arithmetic, learning to count cartridges in horns, discs and clips. They also learned to read and write right away. Inscriptions on the sides of cars, things, identification marks, leaflets - the very first primers for children in those years. Military childhood brought up special qualities in the people of that time. The hero of the book was no exception. Technical savvy, quickness, and a heightened instinct for self-preservation led him to the first steps along the path of knowledge and creativity. The book managed to preserve the originality of post-war village life, vivid images of fellow villagers, and curious details of the life of those times.