The Tale of a Real Man

Boris Nikolaevich Polevoy (1908–1981) was a well-known Soviet prose writer, screenwriter, and journalist, the author of the legendary "The Tale of a Real Man." The book is based on the incredible fate of the Soviet ace pilot Alexei Petrovich Maresyev, whose life became an example of courage, indomitable will, and resilience. As a correspondent for the newspaper "Pravda," Polevoy went through the Great Patriotic War and collected an immense amount of factual material. The meeting with the celebrated pilot took place in August 1943, and the writer recorded his story in the "Diary of the Flight of the 3rd Squadron." Three years later, Polevoy returned to his "Diary" and created a book about the feats of the legless pilot in just a few weeks. "The Tale of a Real Man" was published in 1946 and brought the author nationwide love, as well as being awarded the State Prize of the USSR. An opera by Sergei Prokofiev based on the tale was staged, a feature film was made, the book has undergone dozens of reprints, and has been translated into many languages.