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TOLSTOY - A Life of My Father written and dedicated to the young people of America by Alexandra L. Tolstoy Translated from Russian by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood

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PREFACE (Alexandra L. Tolstoy, 1953)      I am well aware that this book on my father suffers from many defects - I could have done a better job if I had had all the necessary material available; authentic manuscripts and books which could not be obtained because they are now in Moscow.    Furthermore, I could not spare all the time I wanted and had to work mainly during my so-called free days, that is to say, Saturdays and Sundays, as I had to devote the rest of my time to my work for the Tolstoy Foundation.    Yet I am happy to have written this book, be it good or bad, thus fulfilling my duty to my father to whom I owe everything.

In this book I have tried to describe a man who, all his life, worked for moral improvement. In all his failures, errors and mistakes, he never sank in the quagmire of life - he struggle out and went on, rising still higher and higher...    I should like to share with all the readers my love for the extraordinarily kind, sensitive, gay and inspiring man, who yet was great in his simplicity and humility as a human being - my father - and I would like to bring him nearer to you. If I achieve this even partially, I shall have succeeded in my purpose.    I would never have been able to complete this book without the help of my oldest friend, a prominent and cultured woman from our "Last of the Mohicans," Countess Sophie Vladimirovna Panina, who sought and sorted out the material for me and gave me the most valuable advice, and also patiently recopied my manuscripts over and over and over again. To her I wish to express my deepest and heartfelt gratitude.

To find out how you can obtain a copy of this book, Email: info@tolstoyfoundation.com or Call: (845) 268-6722