I've had this book since it was first published in 1968. I remember getting it as a selection from a book club that I belonged to not long after graduating from high school. And it has remained on my shelves since then through several moves with me knowing that I would eventually get to it. Well finally, 50 years later, I did! And I'm sorry that it took so long - this was the very compelling and tragic story of the last Tsar of Imperial Russia, Nicholas and his family as they struggle to rule an immense nation while also dealing with caring for a young son, Alexis, with hemophilia.
This was really about as good as you can get with a nonfiction historical biography...really almost like reading a novel with a very compelling story line. It gives a very good background on the Romanovs dating back to the first Romanov Tsar, Michael and includes short histories of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, etc. Then to Tsar Nicholas II and the turbulent times of World War I. Some of the supporting cast include Queen Victoria who was the grandmother of Alexandra; Kaiser Wilhelm, a cousin to Alexandra and distant cousin to Nicholas; King Edward VII; George V; Lenin and Trotsky; and Rasputin, the monk who was able to insinuate himself into the royal family by providing some relief to Alexis's hemophilia. Nicholas was a rather mild-mannered individual who was made Tsar at a young age when his father died unexpectedly. His wife Alexandra came to rely implicitly on Rasputin who she felt was the salvation of not only her son but of the autocracy of the Russian Empire. In the end, this led to its downfall when she relied on Rasputin to make choices as ministers for the government based on whether they believed in him rather than on their skills. Alexandra was left to make these choices when Nicholas was called to lead the army during WWI. I came away feeling genuine pity for the family. They truly believed they were chosen by God to rule, and that autocracy was the only appropriate system of government for Russia.
I learned a lot about Tsarist Russia and the revolution from reading this epic history. Although I knew basically what happened to bring an end to the empire, this book really fleshes out the details and for anyone interested in Russia and its history, I would highly recommend it.
This was really about as good as you can get with a nonfiction historical biography...really almost like reading a novel with a very compelling story line. It gives a very good background on the Romanovs dating back to the first Romanov Tsar, Michael and includes short histories of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, etc. Then to Tsar Nicholas II and the turbulent times of World War I. Some of the supporting cast include Queen Victoria who was the grandmother of Alexandra; Kaiser Wilhelm, a cousin to Alexandra and distant cousin to Nicholas; King Edward VII; George V; Lenin and Trotsky; and Rasputin, the monk who was able to insinuate himself into the royal family by providing some relief to Alexis's hemophilia. Nicholas was a rather mild-mannered individual who was made Tsar at a young age when his father died unexpectedly. His wife Alexandra came to rely implicitly on Rasputin who she felt was the salvation of not only her son but of the autocracy of the Russian Empire. In the end, this led to its downfall when she relied on Rasputin to make choices as ministers for the government based on whether they believed in him rather than on their skills. Alexandra was left to make these choices when Nicholas was called to lead the army during WWI. I came away feeling genuine pity for the family. They truly believed they were chosen by God to rule, and that autocracy was the only appropriate system of government for Russia.
I learned a lot about Tsarist Russia and the revolution from reading this epic history. Although I knew basically what happened to bring an end to the empire, this book really fleshes out the details and for anyone interested in Russia and its history, I would highly recommend it.
