About the Book:

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 revealed, among many other things, a hidden wealth of archival documents relating to the imprisonment and eventual murder of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their children. Emanating from sources both within and close to the Imperial Family as well as from their captors and executioners, these often-controversial materials have enabled a new and comprehensive examination of one the pivotal events of the twentieth century and the many controversies that surround it.

Based on a careful analysis of more than 500 of these previously unpublished documents, along with numerous newly discovered photos, The Fate of the Romanovs makes compelling revisions to many long-held beliefs about the Romanovs’ final months and moments.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

I first encountered the story of the Romanov’s several years ago, when I came across a book that had the name Rasputin in the title.  At the time, I was familiar with the name, but not the man behind it.  So, picking it up out of curiosity, I ended up starting into a new field of study that has absolutely everything that a story lover could want!  And while that was one of the crazier book I have ever read, it made sure I was hooked on the history of this interesting time and place.  For anyone that doesn’t read history because they find it boring — they have never studied the Romanov’s, particularly Czar Nicholas II, and his wife Alexandria.  This history has all the elements of an incredible story — fast pace, intriguing characters, an heir that suffers from a fatal illness, his mother that is barely even tolerated by her subjects that would do almost anything for her son.  And in addition to this there is the Red October, the Russian Revolution, and the crazy man that has been attributed with the infamous credit of bringing down the entire Russian monarchy.  This one is a love story of star crossed lovers, and their brutal assassination.  It is a mystery, suspense thriller, and even leaves the reader with the myths and legends of history.  What more can you ask for in a book?  And to think this was real life!

This is one of the best books I have read on the last days of the Romanov’s.  It is one of the most indepth books, which has been thoroughly researched — post the fall of communism, so there was a lot more information available for the writing of this book.  The authors have done a good job of keeping their opinions to a minimum, and just presenting the timeline — based on the records and diaries that survied following the Romanov family execution.  An in depth look into many of the accusations about the fall of the Romanovs and the beginning of the Russian revolution, there is so much packed into this little book, that it reads more like a suspense novel than history.

And for those that are not familiar with the Romanov’s, this is an excellent starting point for being introduced to this family that shaped their country over centuries.  Many of us have been taught about the extremes that are found in the Russian dynasties of the czars.  I have found the best way to learn about these lessons is to start from the end, and work backwards.  It is the only time I have ever done that — but I found the stories of the czars much more compelling when I went in, knowing what the ending would eventually lead to.  Intense and poignant, Mr. King has provided us with the heart breaking look into this family that tried to maintain a close working relationship, while the entire country around them was self destructing.  The sufferings of the little Tzaravitch, Alexi are heart breaking, when you come to realize how extreme his suffering really was.  And the princesses take on a whole new dimension through this comprehensive work.

I would reccomend this book for anyone who enjoys learning about other times in history!  And if you are a fan of Romeo and Juliet — well this is the ultimate star crossed lover story for you!

For more information about this book, and its authors be sure to visit the following websites:

Alexander Palace Time Machine

The Fate of the Romanovs Website

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2010-12-08 07:28:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Historical maven Erickson (The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette) delivers a top-notch narrative featuring beautiful and courageous Tatiana Romanov, daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, during the final years of their reign. As life becomes increasingly bleak in pre-revolution Russia, Tatiana sneaks out of the palace and sees firsthand the poverty and violence pervading her country. With Communist rebels shouting for equality and enemy countries invading, Tatiana befriends a young and destitute pregnant woman whose fiance has just been murdered by Cossacks, opening up her conscience in unexpected ways. But as the czar falters and the czarina takes refuge from her afflictions in the company of Father Gregory (better known as Rasputin), Tatiana finds solace in the arms of a fierce patriot. Erickson creates an entirely convincing historical backdrop, and her tale of a family’s fall from power and a country in transition is both romantic and gripping.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that I had a lot of hopes for, but never felt like it completely delivered.  Part of the problem is that I have probably studied too much about the story of the fall of the Russian monarchy — and therefore, I had too many expectations.  But I felt like the majority of this book was a fictional story that only occasionally used facts to prop it up.

One thing that I found particularly distracting in this book is the constant use of the English versions of names.  After reading so much about this time in history, it was really hard for me to orient to the westernized versions of the names, as well as the constant use of nick-names that the author continuously uses.  I also found the alternate time line very distracting.  I know that rumors started almost from the moment of the death of this great Romanov family — but I found this version fantastic in the extreme.

I think another thing that I had a problem with in this story is that the original story is so incredibly beautiful to begin with.  It provides everything that a great love story could have.  A star crossed couple, revolution, class struggles, controversy, scandal, a fatally ill heir, and even the built in villain that is still considered one of the major sources of the beginning of the fall of the last of the Romanov dynasty.  And yet, the author chose to bring in those facts only in a round about way, which seemed to detract from the story on the whole.

The characters were fun — but I found the gallivanting of the Grand Duchess, Tatiana around the entire city of St. Petersburg, unchaperoned — with no one being the wiser a little unbelievable, in the extreme.  And “Grandma Minnie’s” constant intrusion into the story by trying to bring in the character of Sigmund Freud was simply beyond reality.  This is a story that has so much to offer that the embellishments, and the literary license that the author took with the story was just a little beyond what I considered tolerable.

There are several stories out there that are historical fiction, based on this story, that are exceptionally well done.  This one however, is not one of the better choices, in my opinion.

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Abe Books

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-04-08 06:00:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

From the bestselling author of Stalin and The Last Tsar comes The Rasputin File, a remarkable biography of the mystical monk and bizarre philanderer whose role in the demise of the Romanovs and the start of the revolution can only now be fully known.

For almost a century, historians could only speculate about the role Grigory Rasputin played in the downfall of tsarist Russia. But in 1995 a lost file from the State Archives turned up, a file that contained the complete interrogations of Rasputin’s inner circle. With this extensive and explicit amplification of the historical record, Edvard Radzinsky has written a definitive biography, reconstructing in full the fascinating life of an improbable holy man who changed the course of Russian history.

Book Review: ★★★★★★

Those that are follows of my blog know that this is one of my favorite times of history to read about.  If you have ever considered history a boring topic, then you have never read about the fall of the Romanov dynasty, and the surrounding history that led up to the Russian revolution.  The ultimate love story, with a dying heir to the Russian throne, as well as the entire involvement of Rasputin, the man that is credited with all kinds of horrifying behaviors, all of which led to the downfall of Czar Nicholas II, and his family. With star crossed lovers, revolution, murder/attempted murder (all involving one man), the destruction of a family in a basement room, and the world first (and most expensive) bullet proof vest — there really isn’t much missing from this story!

This book is based on a lost investigation file that only resurfaced after the fall of the Communist Russian government, in 1995.  It was at this point that the world was to learn of just how involved Grigory Rasputin was at being a catalyst to the Russian revolution, which led to the ending of the Tsars in Russian history.  The file is filled with interrogations of many of the people that made up the intimate circles of Rasputin, himself. And it is through these interrogations that a clearer picture of the character of Rasputin evolves.

Charged as a holy man, a healer, a counselor and confidant to the royal family, he was also accused of philandering, rape, sexual misconduct of every imagination, and political misdeeds that brought shame upon the Russian monarchy.  The target of more than one assassination attempt, Rasputin is a man of the stuff of legends.  And in fact he is even considered the source of several legends.   The night of his death, having been poisoned, beaten, stabbed, and ultimately drowned in the frozen river — there were some that even considered him nearly immortal.

His intimate connection to the Romanov’s is considered a matter of public record.  And yet the more you read of this book, the more you come to realize how much was never really known about this man.  Depending on the source of the information, depends on the picture that develops — and even putting all the pictures together, you come away with an uncertain image of a very influential, and dangerous person, in a very subversive way.  In the end it is still uncertain what his motivation was, fame, wealth, recognition.  He seemed to be seeking all of them and none of them, depending on whose point of view you were to use.

This is a book that I picked up because the title really caught my attention.  I recognized the name, but I never knew the history.  And after reading this book, I was hooked.  Rasputin is the type of person that makes the perfect character in a book.  No motivation, at least not on the surface, the man seemed to honestly believe in the service he seemed to be performing for the royal family.  But no one ever seemed to figure out what that service really was.  And the allegations and speculation of his influence over the Royal family was vast and vulgar in almost every sense.

The Tsarina insisted that if it were not for his miraculous healing powers, the Tsaravich would never have lived as long as he did.  And yet other’s insisted he was a fraud that was nothing more than a crude peasant that had, beyond all belief, become the lover of the most powerful woman in Russia.

This isn’t a book that provides a lot of answers about who Rasputin was.  But it does give you an interesting look into a startling character from history.  This is a man that has been associated with great miracles, ultimate evil, some even suggested that he was the servant of the devil himself.  It was believed that he was beyond men’s ability to kill him, and some believe that he even out lived the Romanov family, which he single handedly pulled down.  This is a man that is one of the most fascinating characters of history to read about.  And this book is a great source for reading about him.

I also came away from this book with a great appreciation for the rich religious history of the Russian culture.  Having grown up in the United States, I was always taught that the Russians were a godless people that suppressed religion of any kind with a fanatical strangle hold.  I was amazed at the beautiful insight given into the religious culture and heritage that has survived in the Russian people for hundreds of years.  It is a great insight into the cultural structure of the Russian people — not just based on a man considered a raving lunatic, but the beauty of the religious beliefs as a whole come through in this book.

For more information about this book and its author, be sure to visit the following websites:

Official Publisher Page

New York Times Book Review

Steve Reads Book Review

Byzantine Reality Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2010-12-05 07:54:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

From the author of the breakout bestseller The Kitchen Boy, a new novel delving into the mysterious life and death of the notorious Rasputin

With the same riveting historical narrative that made The Kitchen Boy a national bestseller and a book-club favorite, Robert Alexander returns to revolutionary Russia for the harrowing tale of Rasputin’s final days as told by his youthful and bold daughter, Maria. Interrogated by the provisional government on the details of her father’s death, Maria vividly recounts a politically tumultuous Russia, where Rasputin’s powerful influence over the throne is unsettling to all levels of society and the threats to his life are no secret. With vast conspiracies mounting against her father, Maria must struggle with the discovery of Rasputin’s true nature—his unbridled carnal appetites, mysterious relationship with the empress, rumors of involvement in secret religious cults—to save her father from his murderers. Swept away in a plot much larger than the death of one man, Maria finds herself on the cusp of the Russian Revolution itself. With Rasputin’s Daughter, Robert Alexander once again delivers an imaginative and compelling story, fashioned from one of history’s most fascinating characters who, until now, has been virtually unexplored in fiction.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

I have frequently been told that a lot of the books I read lean towards the eclectic.  The topic of this particular book would be a case in point.  I learned about Father Grigori Rasputin, and his alleged bringing down of the entire Romanov dynasty in Russia, when I came across a book on one of my random trips to the book store.  The book was so engrossing that I wanted to learn a little bit more about this character.  So after a great deal of study on the topic of Rasputin, and the Romanov’s — my sister gave me this book and asked me to read it.  It was a historical fiction representation of this topic, and she knew that I was into that.

When I read this book I found it to be surprisingly good.  It doesn’t go into a lot of depth, and the story is told from one of Rasputin’s daughters — from a first person account.  So it isn’t one of the major player accounts — but more of an observation perspective.  So much of the history that you gain from this book is kind of a sideline perspective of the Rasputin saga.  However, it does present an interesting look into what the man, Rasputin, could have been like when he was out of the lime-light.

The narration voice is surprisingly informative, while still maintaining an innocent quality, which keeps the book objective in a strange kind of way.  (And after studying this man, I think the only ones that could have been objective about him would have been those that were on the outside looking in.)  But it still offers a small insight into the last hours of  the infamous Rasputin — as well as the last days of Czar Nicholas II, and his family.

In a revolutionary volatile Russia — as the closing stage is set for the downfall of the last of the Russian Czars — the simple voice of Maria — as she is faced with interrogation, is still honest, and frank in her assessment of the dying gasp of the Romanov dynasty, and the part her father played in their downfall.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book — and I found that it is a book that you could read if you know a lot about this period of history — or nothing at all.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Robert Alexander Website

Penguin Reading Guides

Reading Group Guides

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Abe Books

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-03-17 06:00:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter