A superbly crafted and humane portrait of the last days - and last rulers - of the Russian Empire. Complementing his Pulitzer prize-winning Peter the Great, in this commanding book Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of imperial Russia to tell the story of the decline and fall of the ruling Romanov family: Tsar Nicholas II's political naivete; his wife Alexandra's obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin; and their son Alexis's battle with haemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and ...
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A superbly crafted and humane portrait of the last days - and last rulers - of the Russian Empire. Complementing his Pulitzer prize-winning Peter the Great, in this commanding book Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of imperial Russia to tell the story of the decline and fall of the ruling Romanov family: Tsar Nicholas II's political naivete; his wife Alexandra's obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin; and their son Alexis's battle with haemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a family tragedy played out on the brutal stage of early twentieth-century Russian history - the tale of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Cover is worn, scuffed and scraped from use with some small marks to the textblock and covers from use. Edges of the cover are worn. 592 p. Illustrations.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good Dell Publishing, Light wear on the edge of the book, a few creases in the spine, otherwise the book is in very good condition-clean unmarked pages Quality Books Because We Care-Shipped from Canada Usually ships within 1-2 business days If you buy this book from us, we will donate a book to a local school We donate 10, 000+ books to local schools every year If there are any problems, pleases ask us to resolve it amicably before leaving any feedback.
Book arrived as described by bookseller. Couldn't be happier as to the price and delivery date. Will gladly use this bookseller again.
CharlesJ
Jan 25, 2010
A history written like a novel
Massie writes like a novelist, bringing the era of World War I to life in this story of the last tsar of Russia. He tells the story of how Nicholas' love for his wife and her love for their only son, the hemophiliac Alexis, ruined the nation and destroyed the lives of many. Because of his hemophilia, Alexis was kept under careful surveillance at all times to avoid an accident, but it didn't always keep the accidents from happening. When the dirty, obscene, but extraordinarily powerful Gregory Rasputin came along and was able to heal Alexis whenever the boy was hurt, the Tsarina Alexandra was totally in Rasputin's thrall and, thus, so was the Tsar himself.
"Nicholas and Alexandra" is the sad and intriguing history of the last of the Romanov family up to the time of their assassination. Perhaps because he himself has a hemophiliac son, Massie writes with pathos and presents something very real in the pages, not just dry facts of names, dates, and places. This was the book that got me interested in WWI history, and it's still one of my favorites.
