The famous critic Pavel Basinsky made the only attempt in recent decades to recreate a complete biography of Maxim Gorky (1868–1936). The life of the outstanding Russian writer, thinker, and politician to this day is full of secrets and questions. What ideas fueled Alexei Peshkov on his way to Maxim Gorky? Why did he shoot himself? What is the key to his rapid and noisy fame, which neither Dostoevsky nor L. Tolstoy knew during their lifetime? Why did the “petrel of the revolution” leave the country of the victorious revolution? Why did you hesitate to return? What is the role of the “iron woman” Maria Budberg in his fate? Under what circumstances did the writer’s son die and did he himself die?.. Based on previously unknown materials and documents, the author not only fills in the missing links in the Soviet-mythologized biography of the writer, but also presents Gorky as the herald and creator of a new, revolutionary religion - the religion of Man, shows him in relationships with the most “iconic” people of his time - Leo Tolstoy, John of Kronstadt, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and others. The contents of the book, supplemented by never before published photographic material, will undoubtedly arouse great reader interest.