The book of memoirs of Lev Gumilevsky (1890-1976) can truly be called a "novel about the twentieth century." The author lived a long and creatively fruitful life, rich in events and meetings with many people, - writers of various levels and ways of thinking, officials from literature, people of technology from "academicians to carpenters" - and they all came to life on the pages of his memoirs, covering the time from the beginning of the century to 1969, when the writer completed his work, leaving edification for descendants on its pages.