ABSTRACT
Deciding to write about my father, Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich, was not easy for me-it was hard to believe that I had a right to do this, and that it might be of interest to somebody. Here, the support of my brothers, sisters,
and the widow of Yakov Borisovich, Inessa Yurevna Chernyakhovskaya, has been very important to me. I am especially grateful to my sister O.Ya.Zeldovich: some parts of this work were, in fact, written by her hand.
