ABSTRACT
Habent sua fata libelli (“Books have their own fate”), just like their authors. In both cases, an individual fate reflects the epoch, the social situation, and, in general, what is called the spirit of the times. The book by N. A. Bernstein On Dexterity and Its Development has its own fate, one resembling the fate of its author. Both were hard and dramatic, nearly driving the book and the author to the edge of annihilation, a fate similar to that of many people in Russia (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in the middle of this century. A great Russian writer, Mikhail Bulgakov, said, “Manuscripts do not burn.” However, manuscripts and books did burn in the 20th century, both in Germany and in Russia. This book was lucky—it did not burn to ashes. More precisely, we are lucky to be able to read it.
