About the book: 1986 / Mikhail Andreevich Lev (born in 1915) famous Soviet Jewish prose writer, participant in the Great Patriotic War. The writer survived the horrors of a Nazi camp, fought in a partisan detachment, was a scout, and chief of staff of a partisan regiment. The Patriotic War is the main theme of his work. This publication includes two stories: “If it weren’t for my friends...” (1961) on a military theme and “The Youth of Jacques Albrot” (1965), which tells about the fate of a circus performer whose search for the truth and justice leads to revolution.