About the book: 1968 / This is a book about intelligence officers whose names are not in the known “spy” chronicles. About the pathfinders of the unknown, who every day, most often casually, imperceptibly, without pretensions to “bronze of great lengths,” conduct their laborious search, often performing real feats in the name of truth, in the name of man, in the name of peace on the entire planet. Yes, feats, because their activities require not only intelligence, not only hard work, but also courage. Marx also said that at the entrance to the temple of science, as well as on the threshold of hell, there should be a requirement: “Here the soul must be firm, here fear should not give advice.” And Marx also said: “There is no broad highway in science, and only he can reach its shining peaks who, without fear of fatigue, climbs its rocky paths.” Soviet science walked along slow, thorny paths to its current heights. What legacy did Tsarist Russia leave her? Illiterate population. There is an urgent need for specialists, educational institutions, scientific institutions. And then there was devastation, hunger, sabotage of the “old intelligentsia”... Then there was a war that claimed millions of lives, depleted the economy, distracted science from its peaceful affairs... And yet, despite all the adversities and severe trials, our people in a short period - in just half a century! - reached shining peaks in science and technology and made the whole world talk about the “Russian miracle”. Not everyone is mentioned here, alas, not everyone who would like to be named, who needs to be named - history will still give them their due.