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237 reviews for:
Nicolau e Alexandra: O relato clássico da queda da dinastia Romanov
Robert K. Massie, Angela Lobo de Andrade
4.28 AVERAGE
237 reviews for:
Nicolau e Alexandra: O relato clássico da queda da dinastia Romanov
Robert K. Massie, Angela Lobo de Andrade
4.28 AVERAGE
A very beautifully written history of the last Tsar of Russia and the last Romanov family. It describes and analyses all the factors that lead to the family's ruin and to the Russian revolution. Although, a very sad story it is really interesting! Reading about Rasputin and his influence, wondering which side of the "truth" do I believe. It is an important part of the history and an illustration what an angry mob can achieve when they are angry enough.
Although this is quite a big book, I felt it was quite an easy and even enjoyable read... well up until the last couple of chapters. It made me part of the world that was then and feel for the people part of this story.
Beautiful!
Although this is quite a big book, I felt it was quite an easy and even enjoyable read... well up until the last couple of chapters. It made me part of the world that was then and feel for the people part of this story.
Beautiful!
I wa completely taken in by this book. It was entertaining, enlightning and infuriating. It was quite clear to me that Robert K. Massie wanted this book not only to inform and teach but also to entertain. the style in which he tells the story of the last Tsar and his family is much like the style one would write a piece of fiction. In many places I wanted a source from Massie to know whre he got his data from. In other place his sources were simply a little floopy - they were oral, conversations observed by no one in particular, and, in my opinion, therefore not to be fully trusted. Luckily most of his sources were spot on and very enlighting. They were memoirs by the people close to the tsar. Many of these memoirs are now on my 'to read' list. The infuriating part had more to do with the people in this book (mostly Empress Alexandra) and their descissions. Many a time I had to restrain myself from yelling at the book, telling the people (again, Empress Alexandra) that they (well, she) were making the wrong choices. All in all, a master piece, if you ask my opinion.
Incredibly written story of the last Tsar sand Tsaritsa of Imperial Russia.
There's a photograph of Tsar Nicholas II—the last in the set of photographs in the book—sitting on a tree stump, looking thin and rather haggard. By the time the photograph was taken, he had abdicated the throne and was now a prisoner along with his family. Despite the ill treatment his family was already enduring, his whole face still bears the kindness for which he was renowned. This picture said almost as much to me as the terrific book Massie wrote (that whole picture is worth a thousand word thing, I guess). Perhaps had Nicholas ruled at a different time in Russia, history would look upon him more favorably. Alas, he ruled before and during World War I, a bloody time when a less soft-hearted leader would have been more effective. But Nicholas had many things against him, starting with the ill luck of having a hemophiliac son.
I put off reading the last chapter of this book because I knew it would upset me reading about the deaths of the Romanov family (as it always does). The description of the actual deaths was very brief but still powerful; you felt the terror that the family must have felt when they were fired upon. The fact that they did not die quickly stays with you.
I have been fascinated by the Romanov family since I was six years old and first saw the film Anastasia. I remember telling my mum that 'It's a true story too!' and having her hasten to correct me by loading up the old Encarta CD, browsing the fledgling Internet on our dumpy old computer, and finding a few books that were appropriate for a six year old on the topic.
I proudly did a school project on the Romanov family when I was eleven and my classmates blinked in confusion and had zero questions to ask afterwards since they either didn't know who I was talking about or really didn't care.
I studied the Russian Revolution in Year 11 and watched and bought Nicholas and Alexandra, the movie that is based off of Massie's book. (My mum told me that she had also watched this movie and read the book when she studied the Russian Revolution in Year 11... in 1976, only five years after the book came out)
And yet, I never read this actual book, despite knowing that I'd love it.
Until I did.
Robert K. Massie writes history like a novel; the book is full of vivid imagery and complex characterisation which is helped by using lots of quotes from Nicholas and Alexandra's letters. There is not a lot on Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia and only marginally more about Alexei (and even still, he is still only really there when talking about the effect his haemophilia had on his parents and Russia in general), but I have other books that focus on the children more so I wasn't that upset. It truly is about Nicholas and Alexandra though; clue is in the title.
It never reads like a textbook, and so people who find history books too wordy at times should find this incredibly accessible.
Long story short: I loved this book (if you couldn't tell) and would highly recommend to all.
I have been fascinated by the Romanov family since I was six years old and first saw the film Anastasia. I remember telling my mum that 'It's a true story too!' and having her hasten to correct me by loading up the old Encarta CD, browsing the fledgling Internet on our dumpy old computer, and finding a few books that were appropriate for a six year old on the topic.
I proudly did a school project on the Romanov family when I was eleven and my classmates blinked in confusion and had zero questions to ask afterwards since they either didn't know who I was talking about or really didn't care.
I studied the Russian Revolution in Year 11 and watched and bought Nicholas and Alexandra, the movie that is based off of Massie's book. (My mum told me that she had also watched this movie and read the book when she studied the Russian Revolution in Year 11... in 1976, only five years after the book came out)
And yet, I never read this actual book, despite knowing that I'd love it.
Until I did.
Robert K. Massie writes history like a novel; the book is full of vivid imagery and complex characterisation which is helped by using lots of quotes from Nicholas and Alexandra's letters. There is not a lot on Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia and only marginally more about Alexei (and even still, he is still only really there when talking about the effect his haemophilia had on his parents and Russia in general), but I have other books that focus on the children more so I wasn't that upset. It truly is about Nicholas and Alexandra though; clue is in the title.
It never reads like a textbook, and so people who find history books too wordy at times should find this incredibly accessible.
Long story short: I loved this book (if you couldn't tell) and would highly recommend to all.
Amazing! I saw this book on my grandparents bookshelf for many years. And finally got around to reading it. A great introduction (for me) into Russian history. Mr. Massie seems to write so effortlessly; although a heavy topic he made it very accessible. Fascinating history. I would love to read more about Russia.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. That is not to say that this is a bad book by any means. Massie's narrative flows well and he covers and immense amount of ground capably. However, the story simply did not spark for me. Little hints here and there kept me from rating this book higher or even really getting into the narrative as much as I wanted to.
After a detailed first section of the book describing Nicholas' transition from pampered Tsarevich to Tsar, Massie transitions to a middle section that wobbles back and forth over the course of the next twenty years in which all of the five royal children are born and the seeds of the revolution are sown. Only in the last quarter of the book does Massie once again slow down and narrative the terrible, tragic end of the Imperial family in painstaking detail.
Although every historian is free to choose his or her particular historiographical style, I tend to favor those who, with some exceptions, maintain a linear, chronological telling of the story. If the wobbles back and forth across the years had been thematically arranged in clearer form than Massie presents in the narrative, the wobbling would have made sense to me and I think would have united the strong first and fourth quarters much better than the middle half currently does.
For all the flaws I listed, I do think of Massie as a more than capable author, as his Pulitzer Prize indicates. These flaws stand out to me more, perhaps, because of my own historiographical training and personal preferences. This book definitely inspired me to learn even more about Russian history, of which my knowledge is sadly lacking.
After a detailed first section of the book describing Nicholas' transition from pampered Tsarevich to Tsar, Massie transitions to a middle section that wobbles back and forth over the course of the next twenty years in which all of the five royal children are born and the seeds of the revolution are sown. Only in the last quarter of the book does Massie once again slow down and narrative the terrible, tragic end of the Imperial family in painstaking detail.
Although every historian is free to choose his or her particular historiographical style, I tend to favor those who, with some exceptions, maintain a linear, chronological telling of the story. If the wobbles back and forth across the years had been thematically arranged in clearer form than Massie presents in the narrative, the wobbling would have made sense to me and I think would have united the strong first and fourth quarters much better than the middle half currently does.
For all the flaws I listed, I do think of Massie as a more than capable author, as his Pulitzer Prize indicates. These flaws stand out to me more, perhaps, because of my own historiographical training and personal preferences. This book definitely inspired me to learn even more about Russian history, of which my knowledge is sadly lacking.
An absolutely captivating read, being both educational and incredibly engaging. This book not only provides a truly incredibly insight into the personal lives and troubles of the last Tsar and Empress of Russia, but it also gives an incredibly detailed and well-researched account of the political atmosphere of Russia during those last years of Imperial Rule.
This book might appear somewhat daunting, considering the depth of detail it goes into. But as a person who, although interested in Imperial Russia and the Romanov family, has never really done any independent research, I found myself entertained completely. Never did I find Nicholas and Alexandra to be a boring or tedious read.
I was particularly moved by the portrayal of the Tsar in this book as a kind, gentle and family-oriented man, who loved his country, but who made many a poor decision which ultimately sealed the tragic fate of his family and the downfall of the autocracy in Russia. The way that Massie links Tsarevich Alexis' haemophilia and the influence of Rasputin with the eventual destruction of autocracy in Russia also proved fascinating to me. The last chapters were a harrowing read, knowing what we know of the Imperial Family's brutal execution.
Absolutely worth a read if you are interested at all in this period of Russian history.
This book might appear somewhat daunting, considering the depth of detail it goes into. But as a person who, although interested in Imperial Russia and the Romanov family, has never really done any independent research, I found myself entertained completely. Never did I find Nicholas and Alexandra to be a boring or tedious read.
I was particularly moved by the portrayal of the Tsar in this book as a kind, gentle and family-oriented man, who loved his country, but who made many a poor decision which ultimately sealed the tragic fate of his family and the downfall of the autocracy in Russia. The way that Massie links Tsarevich Alexis' haemophilia and the influence of Rasputin with the eventual destruction of autocracy in Russia also proved fascinating to me. The last chapters were a harrowing read, knowing what we know of the Imperial Family's brutal execution.
Absolutely worth a read if you are interested at all in this period of Russian history.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced