According to critics, Andrei Gavrilov is among the world's greatest concert pianists. In 1974, he won the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition; in the same year he made a triumphant international début at the Salzburg Festival. Since then, he has enjoyed an impressive international career which included performances with the world's greatest orchestras. After 1979, Gavrilov struggled with years of persecution at the hands of the Soviet KGB which included at least four known murder attempts. Fortunately for his fans he made his way to the west in 1984, calling both England and Germany home before he moved to Switzerland in 2001. Gavrilov's book captures the most meaningful episodes of his life. In it he shares his philosophical views on the major problems of the modern world that include but are not limited to totalitarianism, fundamentalism and the decay of our modern culture. It is a piercing view of the man behind the music. An added bonus are the anecdotes about other famous Russian and international celebrities, such as Malkovich, McCartney, Richter, Rostropovich and many others.