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sonofatreus's review
4.0
All in all, this was a good biography of Peter the Great. At least, it was easy to read and seemed comprehensive, but I knew very little about him before this so I can't assess it in that regard.
It's broken into different eras of Peter's life. Probably 2/5 of it covers his time expanding Russia's borders against Sweden and other rivals. I found this to be the least interesting of the work. Much of turned into field descriptions, tactics, and battle narratives. That's never been my favorite kind of history. The other 3/5 were more to my tastes, describing Peter's life and upbringing, how he came to rule, the many changes he made, the development of St. Petersburg, etc. In some cases, this was like reading fiction, it was so surprising. The Streltsy uprising, for one, was a particularly violent time in Peter's life.
As for Massie's writing, like I said, it's easy enough to read. He was writing in the 80s, so some of his descriptions or concerns are a little outdated. For the most part, though, there are few indications that he was writing at a time that would become the end of the USSR. He only mentions modern Russia a few times, mostly in footnotes. The biggest tell is his use of "the Ukraine" as a term, but he won't be faulted for that.
It's broken into different eras of Peter's life. Probably 2/5 of it covers his time expanding Russia's borders against Sweden and other rivals. I found this to be the least interesting of the work. Much of turned into field descriptions, tactics, and battle narratives. That's never been my favorite kind of history. The other 3/5 were more to my tastes, describing Peter's life and upbringing, how he came to rule, the many changes he made, the development of St. Petersburg, etc. In some cases, this was like reading fiction, it was so surprising. The Streltsy uprising, for one, was a particularly violent time in Peter's life.
As for Massie's writing, like I said, it's easy enough to read. He was writing in the 80s, so some of his descriptions or concerns are a little outdated. For the most part, though, there are few indications that he was writing at a time that would become the end of the USSR. He only mentions modern Russia a few times, mostly in footnotes. The biggest tell is his use of "the Ukraine" as a term, but he won't be faulted for that.
maitrey_d's review
5.0
The sheer scale of this book is amazing. Massie vividly reconstructs Peter's life, making a convincing case of how this "giant" of history has left an indelible mark on the whole world.
While describing Peter's famous travels, the author also paints a vivid picture of Russia, Europe, and even some of Peter's contemporaries such as Louis XIV, William of Orange, George I of England and Charles the XII of Sweden.
I learnt more about the 17th and 18th Century world --on the cusp of "modernity"-- than ever before, and how Russia would play such an important role in it thanks to Peter the Great. Although this book was a long, hard slog (mainly because I only had the audio-book), it was all completely worth it.
While describing Peter's famous travels, the author also paints a vivid picture of Russia, Europe, and even some of Peter's contemporaries such as Louis XIV, William of Orange, George I of England and Charles the XII of Sweden.
I learnt more about the 17th and 18th Century world --on the cusp of "modernity"-- than ever before, and how Russia would play such an important role in it thanks to Peter the Great. Although this book was a long, hard slog (mainly because I only had the audio-book), it was all completely worth it.
historyh22's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a little over two weeks to do so, but I've finally finished this monolith. This was a fantastic overview of the life of Peter Alexeyevich and his rule of Russia. I particularly enjoyed the section covering The Great Northern War against Charles XII of Sweden, as well as how Peter Westernized both the army and navy of the Tsardom of Russia. This was well worth the read for the insight on Peter's reign.
mimima's review against another edition
4.0
As I noted below, there is a blurb on the cover of my edition that says, "reads like an novel." I wholeheartedly agree and would argue that the novel it reads like is [b:War and Peace|656|War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413215930s/656.jpg|4912783] - you can skim the war and really delve into the peace. The threads that Massie weaves of European history, Russia, Peter's personality, his family, all well done.
umzz's review
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Robert Massie always does well in writing history in an engaging and approachable manner. I liked this book; some parts were very slow (oftentimes the battle descriptions got confusing and tedious) but overall it was incredibly interesting and has me intrigued in Russian history for the future.
tbear36's review against another edition
It was good
It was good. It was long winded and went on tangents to build the backstory about why and to understand the choices that were made.
It was good. It was long winded and went on tangents to build the backstory about why and to understand the choices that were made.
khanjunatas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5