Konstantin Paustovsky (1892-1968), was recognised as one of the great Russian writers; he enthralled many generations of readers, and his autobiography, 'Story of a Life' is regarded as his masterpiece. In this volume he tells of his early years and develops the four great themes of childhood: childhood, family, home, school and holidays. It is a grand, novelistic memoir of a life lived on the fast-unfurling frontiers of Russian history. Eventually published over six volumes, it would cement Paustovsky's reputation as the voice of Russia around the world, and see him nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Taking its reader from Paustovsky's Ukrainian youth, struggling with a family on the verge of collapse and the first flourishes of creative ambition, to his experiences working as a paramedic on Russia's frontlines and then as a journalist covering the country's violent spiral into revolution, 'The Story of a Life' offers a portrait of an artistic journey like no other. Condit