Reader, you are holding in your hands the second edition of the memoirs of Goran Gotev (1934–2014), the longest-serving Bulgarian journalist abroad in the 20th century - more than 25 years.
They take us back to events that fewer and fewer of today's readers were contemporaries of: from the opening of the Aswan Dam, to the colossal changes before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The book is read with interest, it captivates not only because of the skill with which it was written, but also because the author gives life to the well-known, long-past events and people, their drivers and inspirers, under his pen they acquire flesh and blood, the reader he also feels the human passions driving events. Thus the past acquires body temperature and emotional dimensions. The author gets to the most intimate moments of human behavior.
When looking carefully and persistently at historical figures of our recent past, the question arises: What kind of person is a dictator?
The new edition, complete with photographs from his personal archive, coincides with the tenth anniversary of his death and the 90th anniversary of his birth.
Goran's book is read in one breath, with ease, without stumbling. And for those who, like me, had the good fortune to know him, you can also hear his voice in it - and his unforgettable laugh.
                                                     Borislav Boychev