5 comments about Nicholas And Alexandra.

1. I read historical biography for fun in my spare time and this is definitely one of the best of the genre I have ever read. Absorbingly written, this love story is one I will not soon forget. Massey humanizes Nicholas, Alexandra, their children and those that were close to them and makes them come alive. I will be reading the follow up book by the same author as soon as I find the time.
   
   I've given my copy of this book to my mother to read (another historical biography buff) and she loves it.



2. I absolutely love this book. Robert Massie presents Nicholas and Alexandra in the most human terms, more loving parents and partners than tsar and tsarina. The writing is superb, and transports the reader to this tumultuous time and space. History may not have treated Nicholas and Alexandra very kindly, but you can't help but empathize with their plight after reading Massie's incredible portrait of their lives. I am so touched at the intimacy of their family relationshiops, and they seem like lovely people, but maybe a little dense. Perhaps they were just not qualified or prepared to rule over the largest empire in the world. I picked this book up at a flea market years ago, and it's been sitting on a shelf unread because I thought it might be too academic or boring. I couldn't have been more wrong. My copy is from the late 1960s, and this book is still in print, if that speaks to the quality of the biography. I have just ordered The Romanovs - the Final Chapter by the same author, as I'm obsessed and want to know more about the last royal family of Russia. I also have Peter the Great, for which Massie was given the Pulitzer prize, on my To Read list. This is honestly one of the best books I have read in years. It has earned a place in my permanent collection.



3. Excellent story from begining to end! I was very interested in reading about the entire saga...learning about the Romanovs, the history and status quo at the time of Russia, what led up to the revolution and the whole entire tragedy,
   
   Once I set down to read it, I continued to read for hours, and hated to put the book down!
   
   Massie is a very good writer who knows how to put together an enthralling and interesting narrative that keeps the reader pondering about the tragic lives and ending of the Romanovs, and what led up to their demise, well after the reader has finished the book: )
   
   I will definitely pull this book out and read it again sometime.



4. I am little late to the game when it comes to being intrigued by Russian history - it just happened one day. My first thought was to read about the Romanovs, and due to the excellent reviews on Amazon for this book, I ordered it and devoured it within a few short days. This book reads like a novel, fast paced and absorbing. These names I have heard spoken for years finally came to life on these pages. Its a must read for anyone interested in Russian history. The follow up written by Masse is also excellent.



5. 'Nicholas and Alexandra' is a thorough history. It has an impressive Bibliography with a lot of primary source material listed and the end notes meticulously cite the source references. One would usually expect such a book to be dry, dusty and dense but this one reads like a novel. Massie has a very easily fluid way of expressing himself and his prose is rich. Not only are his descriptions very visual, he is often able to communicate the atmosphere and tensions of the times and events. There is only one chapter where I found the writing got a bit slow and uninteresting (perhaps Massie didn't find this part of the story interesting himself), but I say that one out of thirty-four ain't bad.
   
   My only quibble with the book is a minor one: frequently, Massie deals with one aspect of the history and then goes on to some other related topic. This necessitates a number of jumps back and forth in the chronology and, while it is not a bad way to tell the story, I found it threw me off ever so slightly at times and I had to go back to see what period was being discussed. It wasn't a major problem, at all, but maybe the jumps could have been a bit more deftly handled.
   
   I found it interesting that Massie never yielded to temptation to speculate whether any of the supposed victims of the slaughter at the Ipatiev house actually survived and whether any of the claimants to being Anastasia or the Tsarevich were telling the truth. He flatly states that the entire party were killed on the spot and their bodies mostly destroyed before whatever was left was thrown down a mineshaft. This was essentially the finding of an investigation conducted not long after the events, but the findings concerning the disposal of the bodies were later called into question in The file on the THE FILE ON THE TSAR THE FATE OF THE ROMANOVS - DRAMATIC NEW EVIDENCE published in 1976. Massie published 'Nicholas and Alexandra' in 1967 so he was obviously not able to draw on the later theory and investigation, nor could he have had the benefit still later forensic findings that proved pretty conclusively that the Tsar and all his immediate family were indeed all killed (and thus the claims of so-called survivors all false) and which also established the eventual fate of the remains. Rather ironically, Massie himself later came to document this investigation in his book The Romanovs: the Final Chapter. ... also an excellent read.

5 comments about The Romanovs: Love, Power & Tragedy.

1. This book is THE best pictorial/essay on the last Romanovs. I am a Russian history buff and probably have most, if not all, books on the Romanov family (up to this last Tsar-Nicholas II) and this book is by far the most interesting and fascinating with many photos that have never been published before. This book remains close at hand since I find that I go back to it to either re-read, or use as a reference as I am reading another book. It definately belongs in your library if you find that this time in history is of interest to you.



2. This wonderful book contains beautiful pictures of the last Romanovs. I own about 50 books related to Tsar Nicholas II, and this one is my favorite!



3. "The Romanovs: Love, Power & Tragedy" is perhaps the best book on the last Imperial Family of Russia. Its aim is to not only tell the story through written text, but also through large, beautiful photographs - some which have never been published elsewhere, and most specially, through the very words of the Imperial Family themselves. It begins with the Tsar's and Tsarina's childhood, to their courtship and marriage, coronation, their family life, the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule, the Great War, and to the Tsar's abdication, his family's imprisonment and later their execution. It is not an ordinary book, but is so lovely and charming and will surely be treasured and cherished.



4. There are a few publishers who give you books which convey all there is to know about someone or something, Dorling-Kindersley, Taschen and this book prove that you can get it right. The unbelievable photographs, letters and art give you a real sense of who the Romanovs were. You walk understanding them and, I think, liking them.



5. Another book about the last Tsar and his family and their demise as well as the demise of a great country. I recommend this book to anyone.

5 comments about Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia.

1. The first Russian state emerged in the late 9th century as a federation of Slavic kingdoms and tribes around Kiev, under the leadership of Rurik, who almost certainly was of Scandinavian origin. Later rulers included such major figures as Alexander Nevsky (who defeated the Teutonic Knights) and Vasily II (who made the Orthodox Church independent), but the author begins his survey with Ivan III "the Great" in 1462. Each tsar or tsarina gets a boxed summary of personal data, an historical survey of the reign, a variety of illustrations and relevant maps, and often a basic genealogical drop-chart. Warnes is a well-known scholar of Russian history and culture and his interpretations of five centuries of Russian history are astute and well-written. Specialists in Western Europe often know very little about Russian history and the several dynasties that made it. This volume makes a good ready-reference resource.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this balanced account of the czars. I wish there could have been more treatment of those that preceded the Romanovs--I guess you'd call them the "Dukes of Muscovy"--but it's probably for obvious reasons (viz., the availability of 15th-century vs. 19th-century sources) that they're slighted. Watch out for editorial problems all over the place. In one diagram, somebody's wife is also indicated as that same somebody's daughter. This is just plain laziness: someone neglected to sufficiently carefully review the diagram and delete the offending 5 mm. line segment. Also, in a factoid box summarizing Nikolai II, his father is listed as Aleksandr II when, in fact, his father was quite obviously Aleksandr III. Also, the book steered uncomfortably clear of some of the unsolved mysteries of the throne, e.g., by reducing the eighteen-day rule of Czar Konstantin (27 Nov.-14 Dec. 1825) to but a single, unstressed sentence. In overall quality, this book compares favorably to the other members of the series: indeed, it is often superior. But, in its striving for balance, it omits some important coverage. More deserves to be said about Ivann IV Vasiliyevich ("The Terrible"--in actuality, "The Awesome" is the proper translation of his title, "Groznij") and Pyotr I Alekseyevich ("The Great") because these czars made outstanding contributions that shaped the character of Russia, not just because they were on the throne for 30+ years. The czars' role in Russian history cannot be compared to the role of any other succession of leaders in the history of any other nations: the czars were the heart and soul of the empire they so tenderly loved with such religious conviction (not to mention "the divine right of kings"); without exaggeration, the czars WERE Russia.



3. For more than a thousand years, Russian history was an uninterrupted story of both internal and external political violence from which occasionally emerged rules of legend. In "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia" by historian and author David Warnes provides a comprehensive 224-page history that draws upon original source materials (including personal letters, contemporary historical documents, and maps of major battles) to provide a detailed, chronologically organized history of the reign of each of the twenty-six tsars who held the throne of the Russian empire. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" provides succinct biographies of the tsars, time lines, genealogical information. Of special note are the more than ninety 'sidebars' and special features providing social, cultural, and technological contextual information. Ideal for students researching Russian history, "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" is also highly recommended as informed and informative reading for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the tsars of Russia.



4. If you are interested in Russian history, as I am, this book should be essential reading for you. It details the reigns of all of the Russian Tsars from their beginning to the end of Nicholas II. Additionally, there are sidebar paragraphs and whole picture pages (with beautiful color photos) that tells the reader more about life and times in Russia during a particular reign.
   
   We read about the begining of Rus as a very small land area which, over the centuries, grew into the country we are familiar with today, even with all of the changes of the past decade or two. I found the entire book fascinating, and would highly recommend it!



5. Quite interesting and informative; this book gives a reign-by-reign summary of each Tsar from Ivan III in 1462 to Nicholas II in 1917, with a brief epilogue. The writing is readable, if not as much so as some of the best historical writers (such as David McCullough)but much better than many writers of history who seem to feel that it isn't professional to exhibit style. Definitely a worthwhile reference.

2 comments about The Reforms of Peter the Great: Progress Through Coercion in Russia (New Russian History).

1. This is a well written book, linking Peter's reforms to the political culture of Russia and the USSR. Anisimov is in agreement with Voloshin in describing Peter as the first Bolshevik. If you love Russian history, and if you want to understand the people of this fascinating country, this book is a must--have!!!



2. Now, I have been taking a Russian history class, so it was required to pick up a couple of history books to read. This one was an excellent book, though at times, facts and figures bog the reader down. Overall, Anisimov clearly unfolds the story of Peter I's reforms, while occasionally sneaking in some wry wit. Some of his remarks almost made me laugh out loud!!

   Definitely a must have for anybody interested in Peter I!

5 comments about The Romanovs & Mr Gibbes: The Story of the Englishman Who Taught the Children of the Last Tsar.

1. Sydney Gibbes would have been unknown to all except his own family had he not taken the momentous step of going to Russia in the early 1900s. There he sought out work as tutor to the children of various noble families, with indifferent results and gaining a reputation for behavior, which while not all that unusual for the times, definitely raised a few eyebrows (especially his insistence on whipping his students). He strode into history in 1908 when Empress Alexandra Fedorovna needed a tutor to correct her daughters' accents and hired him sight unseen. Gibbes remained with the family for the next ten years through war and revolution, teaching the four Grand Duchesses and then the hemophiliac Tsarevich.
   
   Gibbes doesn't strike the reader as particularly admirable at first. He was definitely a social-climber and not particularly talented as a teacher. His private life was mysterious, involving some mild flirtations with an Englishwoman and some dreams (carefully recorded for posterity by Gibbes himself) which seem classically Freudian.
   
   Gibbes came into his own, and we find reason to respect and like him, with the Russian Revolution of March 1917. As an Englishman he could have easily left Russia and gone home to safety. Instead he chose to remain with the Imperial Family, sharing their captivity in their palace outside Petrograd and then in Tobolsk. He underwent considerable hardship and personal danger, but he was selflessly devoted to the family. Even after he was told to leave by the Bolsheviks who were holding the family in their final prison in Ekaterinburg he remained in the city, walking past the House of Special Purpose and trying to get in for visits. After the family's murder, he assisted the investigators trying to determine what had happened.
   
   After leaving Russia Gibbes lived in China before returning to England. He became an Orthodox priest, adopted a Russian orphan boy, and spent most of the rest of his life in Oxford, maintaining a museum of keepsakes of the family he had served for so long. He was not particularly effective as a priest, but he was sadly missed and fondly remembered after his death, which is a pretty good epitaph for anyone.
   
   This biography makes use primarily of Gibbes'own notes and diary, so that the reader must look elsewhere for historical insight into his life, but nevertheless it does a nice job telling the story of a quiet, somewhat limited man who was a good servant and friend.



2. This book doesn't shed any new light on the Romanovs, but it does give new insight into a man who knew them very well. It is a short book, but very informative.



3. A very interesting pocket book. A great perspective of the times. For a history buff, a good eye witness biographical account. However, considering the near epic situation of those times and places, the book seems sparse. A noticeable ommission are (the other?) Gibbes' photographs not published in this book. I've seen photographs published elsewhere that were attributed to be taking by Gibbs. A proper mix of these photos and the book would have added much. But still, this book is very much worth reading. For you history buffs, and a complementary account, check out Gilliard's writtings.



4. Was greatly anticipating this read...here it is, an up-close look at someone who spent significant time with the Imperial Family. Finally, an opportunity to get a real glimpse of Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia...who else could provide such personal commentary but the one person who spent years tutoring the family?? The promise was there (at least in the title), but the pages never delivered. VERY little at all was mentioned about the daughters, and what little anecdotes offered dealt primarily with Alexei. The most interesting part of the book was his brief description of his confrontation of Anna Anderson, the Anastasia imposter. If you're looking for a biography of the man who tutored the Romanov children...by all means buy this book. If you're looking for personal insight into the Imperial family, don't bother.



5. This is a small book only 140 pages long but the problem is, it is too short for such a momentous subject and somehow neither Mr. Gibbes, himself, the English tutor to the Tsar's five children, or the children or the Tsar and Tsarina seem to gel. They are all amorphous like shadows that seem to exist more on the pages of a fictional book than in real life. Here is a man who lived day by day with the tsar's family and yet it's as though he were watching them on television, to be horribly anachronistic. The closest physical proximity you get is when Gibbes describes the antics of the mischievious Anastasia and the imperiousness of the little tsarevich, and you do realize that at those moments he really was right THERE, right in the same room with them. Gibbes as a personality seldom seems to come to life; however, as another reviewer explains, years after the Romanovs' execution when he confronts Anna Anderson, the phony Anastasia, he views her with total contempt, saying if she is the Grand Duchess, he is a Chinaman.
   
   I recommend the above review by Mr. John Cofield of "Mr. Gibbes" because it is very thorough, well-written, and he gives it five stars because he likes the book. I like it, too, but I thirst for more descriptions, more insights, more on the spot observations. Olga, Tatiana and Maria almost disappear all together. Gibbes was a person of no great talent who basked in the shadow of the famous but he can't be swept under the rug. He was on the spot. It's as simple as that. And he so identified himself with the Imperial Family he became an Orthodox Russian priest when he returned to England after the executions, grew a spectacular beard and immersed himself in the memory of the Romanovs, even keeping a shrine of some of their artifacts.
   
   "The Romanovs and Mr. Gibbes" is a sort of hors d'oeuvre for a study of the family of Nicholas II. You will enjoy it as part of your collection if you're already a Romanov aficianado, but if you're a novice here, you'll need much more.

2 comments about Far Northern Connections: Researching Your Sami (and Other) Ancestors in Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

1. 
   FAR NORTHERN CONNECTIONS: RESEARCHING YOUR SAMI AND OTHER ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN NORWAY, SWEDEN, FINLAND, AND RUSSIA is more than just listing of research methods for genealogists and collections catering to them: it includes charts, explanations of foreign terms, and insights into the web sites and places to begin a search. The author's years of research into her own family history lends to a fine expose of the special challenges involved in research far northern archives for genealogical data.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Like Virginia, I have been interested in my Finnish family roots since my twenties. There had been a little talk about one line of my family having "Lapp" roots I remember in discussions from when I was very small. When I started mapping my family tree, I decided to look into that family line, but I only reached dead ends. Asking family elders helped very little, as that information was either forgotten--or, for various reasons, didn't want to be shared. Having Sami ancestry has been very stigmatized in the Finnish-American community. Virginia's book helped me overcome some of the obstacles. I eventually found out that I was more than just a "little bit" Sami. I probably have at least as much Sami heritage as I do Finnish...a little bit mind-boggling to me, considering that my family has taken so much pride in our Finnish heritage. I still take pride in my Finnish roots, but now I also take pride in my Sami! Virginia also does a good job explaining why Sami heritage has been so suppressed both in the United States and abroad in a way that does not diminish the contributions and sacrifices our immigrant ancestors made for us when they created a new home for us in the United States. A must-read for anyone who is interested in pursuing genealogy and suspects they may have Sami ancestry. Studies have shown there are at least 30,000 Americans with Sami ancestry, but only about 2% are aware of their Sami identity. If this might be you, Virginia's book is a great guide to get you to your destination!

5 comments about The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias.

1. W. Bruce Lincoln's history of the 300 years of Romanov rule in Russia (1613-1917) is easily his most readable account of Russian history. While Professor Lincoln's research is meticulous as ever, in this volume he has to cover far more ground than in his other more focused histories and thus he avoids some of the digressions that he normally might allow himself. The result is a superb one-volume history of the Tsars and Tsarinas who determined Russia's development from a minor principality into the largest empire on earth.

   The Romanovs consists of four parts: Muscovite beginnings (1613-1689), the Rise of an Empire (1689-1796), Empire Triumphant (1796-1894) and the Last Emperor (1894-1917). The first three parts each consist of several chapters, with the first covering biographical details of the Tsars and Tsarinas in that period, followed by chapters on political and cultural changes in that period. There are only two significant problems with what is otherwise a superb presentation: a non-chronological methodology and a lack of a single supporting map of Romanov domains (there are two maps of St Petersburg's layout). In the first case, Lincoln tends to keep coming back to Tsars in subsequent chapters on culture, politics, etc which is very confusing. Indeed, he seems in a rush to plow through the biographies of the Tsars, then revisit their cultural accomplishments, then come back again and discuss their political accomplishments, and then maybe discuss a few scandals or wars. As for the lack of maps, it makes it extremely difficult for the reader to evaluate the territorial expansions of the various Romanov rulers or Russia's growth over three centuries.

   Despite these two flaws, the Romanovs is a delightful read for anyone with a scholarly interest in Russian imperial history. Perhaps the three most significant rulers that Lincoln assesses are Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Nicholas II. Most histories tend to elevate Peter to hero status, but Lincoln's evaluation is more mixed. While Peter gets great credit for pushing Russia to modernize, the costs he incurred may have been too great. In particular, Lincoln questions Peter's obsession with building his capital on totally unsuitable terrain; the fact that the Russians were able to eventually succeed in constructing Peter's dream capital often disguises the fact that the human and financial losses were exorbitantly wasteful. The reader will be left to ponder the question that if Peter had built his capital elsewhere, Russia's development might have been much less painful. As for Catherine, Lincoln prefers to minimize the scandal and corruption associated with her court and view this as the golden age of Russian cultural development. Finally, Nicholas II appears as even more of a fatalistic dolt bent on self-destruction than he did in Lincoln's previous books. In sum, The Romanovs provides a solid and very readable account of Russia's development under the Tsars and Tsarinas.




2. if you want to no about the early to last romanov's and russia history this book is for you.this writer leave nothing out.



3. Book was very easy reading and well organized. One of the best history books I have read.



4. This is an excellent history book. Even though I was had to read the book in many sittings, I never lost the train of thought of the author.
   
   My only criticism is that I really wanted to learn more about Peter the Great and how he built St. Petersburg. I felt the book was lacking in this very important aspect of the history of Russia



5. I bought this book based upon all the readers' reviews. I love Russian culture and thought this book would be great to read. I forgot to read the Editor's review which says "...much of the book is plain boring..." And I totally agree. I found a little bit interesting but in the 850 pages there really isn't enough worth buying or reading this book. I would find another book about this subject if I were you.

1 comments about Flags of the Napoleonic Wars (2) : Austria, Britian, Prussia, & Russia (Men at Arms Series, 78).

1. For those who have an incklng to study the Napoleonic era with the intent of learning about the flags of Napoleon and his enemies,this book is it. Very beautiful illustrations of the flags of the early 19th century France which were used in conflict against England,Russia and Prussia and others. A historians choice book on the subject.

5 comments about The Tarasov Saga: From Russia Through China to Australia.

1. I was involved in a novel when I purchased a copy ot the Tarasov Saga. I intended to keep it in reserve for when I finished the novel.
   Out of curiosity I started reading the Tarasov Saga. Once I started the novel had to wait. I became involved with the story of a struggling mother and at the same time gathered a good understanding of what Russia must have been like at that time.
   The stort of foreign groups living in designated areas in China was also fascinating. The numerous photographs in the booked also helped me. I often found myself referring back to the photographs and maps to help my understanding. A good read



2. I found the book most interesting especially because of the historical insights that the author shared about life in Russia, China and finally in Australia. The contrasts between life in the Far East and life now in Australia for Gary and his family is amazing and it is wonderful to note the appreciation he has for the differences.
   I always love stories about people and what they have coped with in their lives. Certainly Gary Nash will have inherited some of the strong and stoic qualities that his grandmother showed.
   I found the book very enjoyable to read and the family tree was very useful to continuously revert back to as the story progressed. It has also been written in a very positive way and I would guess that this is why the Tarasov family managed to get to Australia and be successful.
   Most enjoyable - well worth reading!



3. The Tarasov Saga is a very absorbing book, not only because of its account of a remarkable journey over 25 years of the extended Tarasov family, initially fleeing from Russia through China and the Phillipines to Australia, but also for the historical perspective of life in Russia and China in the first half of the 20th century.
   I have known the author, both as a work colleague and a friend for over 30 years but, Gary being a very private person, all I knew of his background was that he was of White Russian origin and had lived in China before coming to Australia! The to read this book and discover the astonishing story of all that happened from the time of the Russian Revolution and its effects on the Tarasovs, individually and collectively, until the first of them arrived in Australia in 1949, made for compelling reading.I am not qualified to comment on Gary's literary style or technique, but the way he has portrayed each member of the family, their strengths and their weaknesses brought them to life so that, not only were they believable, but one could visualise their individual contributions to this saga.
   This book is about courage, determination and resilience, and what can be achieved by people who are single-minded and motivated to seek a better life after many years of deprivation
   and hardship.
   In particular, the reader is left in no doubt of the author's great affection and admiration for his Grandmother Aida and her monumental efforts to ensure that the family survived their epic journey and, bar one member, all be reunited in Australia.
   I thoroughly commend this book which is not only an enjoyable read but in an age where the refugee problem is a world-wide one, provides an understanding of the hardships and traumas that constantly confront refugees on the move.
   It is an intensely human story which reinforces basic values and beliefs, in an era where many consider these things to be unimportant.
   It would be nice to think that an enterprising producer might think that there is enough meat and drama in The Tarasov Saga to provide the basis for a film or TV series. It certainly has all the ingredients.



4. This book details the adventures of a large family as they seek safe haven from communism. In the beginning of the book, the author's mother and father are living in Czarist Russia, where his father is an officer in the army just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The small family grows to five children during the war. As the revolution begins to take hold, the father joins the loyalist White Russians and is dragged further and further east with them. His mother is left to manage alone with the five children. As it became clear that, as White Russians, they were not welcome in the Soviet Union, the mother decides to make her way east with the children, although she had no money and only a vague idea of where her husband might be. After a series of misadventures in which she is forced to leave the children behind, she eventually finds her husband and gets all five children back with her in a city in China that had a large Russian refugee population. The entire family made its home in China for the next twenty years, until a second communist revolution made them refugees once again.

   The story is quite well written, with amazing recall of details from long ago adventures. The stories describing everyday life in the Russian refugee communities of pre-Communist China provide a fascinating glimpse into a very little known way of life. On the one hand, it is amazing that the entire large family was able to make it out of Russia and then out of China, but on the other hand, it was precisely because they had so many people working together in the family that made it possible.




5. If this were fiction it would sometimes be unbelievable, but it is a real life story of a remarkable family. Gary Nash captures the strong spirit of survival that infused his relatives in the difficult historical times of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. The mother's harrowing search for her children in a worn-torn land defies description, but Nash manages to write of it with sympathy but not sentimentality. The family escapes from Russia into China and when, finally, it seems that all their efforts have led to a 'normal' life, their adopted country in invaded by Japanese forces. A sojourn in a 'Displaced Person's Camp' in the Philippines follows, but finally, their journey to Australia gives them the new, settled life they had traversed the world to find. Natasha Lands Down Under

2 comments about Peter the Great (Critical Issues in History Ser).

1. Superbly written by Paul Bushkovitch (Professor of History, Yale University), Peter The Great is a terse, compact, yet artfully presented biography of one of Russia's greatest and most influential rulers. Portraying the culture and problems of Russia at the end of the seventeenth century, and examining the events of Peter's reign and its legacy to history, Peter The Great is a informed, informative, and thoroughly absorbing study which is very highly recommended for students of Russian History and non-specialist general readers with an appreciation of the art and science of biography.



2. I found this book to be disjointed and difficult to read. The sentences were awkward, and I detected several grammatical errors throughout the book that could potentially confuse the reader (they confused me!) The first half of the book centered on Russian politics and aristocracy; Peter didn't play much of a role until the latter part of the text. Even then, the chronology was confusing. Daughters that had never been mentioned suddenly got married; Peter died in one chapter, while his military strategy was described in the next, along with somewhat random details of his death that had been previously left out. Perhaps it's my lack of familiarity with Russian history, but I had great difficulty telling who was who and what happened when within the biography. In addition, it was rather boring in the beginning. However, the book did do a good job of providing the reader with a mostly unbiased view of Peter and the Russia he ruled, as well as an understanding of the political machinations of his day. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it for general readers.