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236 reviews for:
Nicolau e Alexandra: O relato clássico da queda da dinastia Romanov
Robert K. Massie, Angela Lobo de Andrade
4.28 AVERAGE
236 reviews for:
Nicolau e Alexandra: O relato clássico da queda da dinastia Romanov
Robert K. Massie, Angela Lobo de Andrade
4.28 AVERAGE
Dated and problematic (published during the Cold War), but still fascinating. Massie is great at humanizing his subjects.
This review can also be found on my blog!
Ever since I was 9, I’ve had a weird obsession with the end of the Romanov dynasty. It was mainly because of Anastasia, but I just love the story. It’s so interesting and absolutely heartbreaking. When I got to their deaths, I did start crying. As I said, it’s just a sad story and a very sad, unneeded, violent end to a family who could have lived out their lives peacefully together.
But, onto the book!
I thought that it had really good pacing. It never felt like I was being bogged down in a certain period of time while I was reading. It all kept moving at a swift pace. In all honesty, I was surprised that the book skipped over the kids so much. The main focus was put on Alexei, which didn’t surprise me much. I think that was because Massie put out that his illness was a major part of their downfall.
The book was also well-balanced. It never felt as if either person took up too much time or space on the page. Nicholas and what he did were evenly put down, then there was time for Alexandra. Then there was time for the both of them and both of their reactions. Again, that was mainly about Alexei and his illness. Because, honestly, he was a very sick boy and it was a wonder that he lived as long as he did.
However, I do wish that the book had taken a different spin on the Rasputin story. I don’t think that he was a good guy, but he was very complex. There was a lot to who he was and it’s hard to capture it. Massie did a pretty good job of telling that story, but it’s also difficult because this is a classical take on the story. The book was originally published in 1967 and I doubt that much has changed in the text since that point.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Rasputin wasn’t the best man in the world and he did a lot of not great things. His death also cracks me up because of how excessive it had to be and the fact that nothing they tried killed him. BUT, the Rasputin relationship kind of annoyed me. I also think that reducing it to Rasputin’s fault that the Romanov dynasty fell apart is very reductive. Nicholas wasn’t a great Tsar. Let’s be honest. He wasn’t. He cared for his people, but he wasn’t a fount of strength that the people turned to. And his wife was very unpopular even before Rasputin came onto the scene.
Still, this was a good book. I don’t know if I’d read it again anytime soon, but I thought it was a good source of information since most books do focus on the children rather than the parents. I just think I would like a book that took a different stance and was a bit more updated with current thought than this one.
Ever since I was 9, I’ve had a weird obsession with the end of the Romanov dynasty. It was mainly because of Anastasia, but I just love the story. It’s so interesting and absolutely heartbreaking. When I got to their deaths, I did start crying. As I said, it’s just a sad story and a very sad, unneeded, violent end to a family who could have lived out their lives peacefully together.
But, onto the book!
I thought that it had really good pacing. It never felt like I was being bogged down in a certain period of time while I was reading. It all kept moving at a swift pace. In all honesty, I was surprised that the book skipped over the kids so much. The main focus was put on Alexei, which didn’t surprise me much. I think that was because Massie put out that his illness was a major part of their downfall.
The book was also well-balanced. It never felt as if either person took up too much time or space on the page. Nicholas and what he did were evenly put down, then there was time for Alexandra. Then there was time for the both of them and both of their reactions. Again, that was mainly about Alexei and his illness. Because, honestly, he was a very sick boy and it was a wonder that he lived as long as he did.
However, I do wish that the book had taken a different spin on the Rasputin story. I don’t think that he was a good guy, but he was very complex. There was a lot to who he was and it’s hard to capture it. Massie did a pretty good job of telling that story, but it’s also difficult because this is a classical take on the story. The book was originally published in 1967 and I doubt that much has changed in the text since that point.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Rasputin wasn’t the best man in the world and he did a lot of not great things. His death also cracks me up because of how excessive it had to be and the fact that nothing they tried killed him. BUT, the Rasputin relationship kind of annoyed me. I also think that reducing it to Rasputin’s fault that the Romanov dynasty fell apart is very reductive. Nicholas wasn’t a great Tsar. Let’s be honest. He wasn’t. He cared for his people, but he wasn’t a fount of strength that the people turned to. And his wife was very unpopular even before Rasputin came onto the scene.
Still, this was a good book. I don’t know if I’d read it again anytime soon, but I thought it was a good source of information since most books do focus on the children rather than the parents. I just think I would like a book that took a different stance and was a bit more updated with current thought than this one.
I could probably qualify as an honorary historian of the Romanov family. I have studied their fascinating story for many years merely out of my own curiosity. I have watched documentaries and I've read many books and articles about the family and their heartbreaking assassination in 1918.
Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie is considered to be a classic among people who study the Romanov family, and I knew that I needed to read it someday in order to satisfy more of my unquenchable interest in the Romanovs.
This book surprised me. It was different than how I expected it to be. Based on the title, I was expecting this book to mainly document the relationship and lives of Nicholas and Alix, but there was so so so much more.
It was so incredibly, astonishingly rich in historical detail. I was nerding out a lot more than I probably should have as I was connecting the political dots together during the chapters on World War I. This is the type of book that you have no choice but to give your full attention to so that you don't lose track of who is related to who and what all was going on during this time in history.
However, this book does also focus a lot on the lives of Nicholas and Alix, as it promises. When I was finished reading, I felt as if I knew Nicholas and Alexandra intimately. I think it's easy for people studying history to forget that they were just human beings like everyone else. They made mistakes, they had feelings, and people they cared about. I felt like I especially understood Nicholas and who he was as a tsar far better after I read this book than I did before.
Reading Nicholas and Alexandra made me think about history in a different way. It helped me understand Nicholas, Alix, Alexis, Rasputin, and the Bolshevik revolutionaries more.
Another aspect that surprised me about this account of the Romanov family is the amount of detail it went into Alexis and his battle with hemophilia. Everyone knows now that the tsarevich struggled throughout his whole life with hemophilia, inherited from his mother, but I had never really thought about how heartbreaking it was, and how Alexis' disease played a role in changing the course of history for Russia and the world.
It wrecks me to think that the tragic deaths of the Romanov family really happened, but they did. History is real. And it's crazy to think how every little thing is connected and how history has shaped the way the world is today.
Nicholas and Alexandra is a beautifully written testament to the Romanovs, in the hopes that their story won't ever be forgotten.
Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie is considered to be a classic among people who study the Romanov family, and I knew that I needed to read it someday in order to satisfy more of my unquenchable interest in the Romanovs.
This book surprised me. It was different than how I expected it to be. Based on the title, I was expecting this book to mainly document the relationship and lives of Nicholas and Alix, but there was so so so much more.
It was so incredibly, astonishingly rich in historical detail. I was nerding out a lot more than I probably should have as I was connecting the political dots together during the chapters on World War I. This is the type of book that you have no choice but to give your full attention to so that you don't lose track of who is related to who and what all was going on during this time in history.
However, this book does also focus a lot on the lives of Nicholas and Alix, as it promises. When I was finished reading, I felt as if I knew Nicholas and Alexandra intimately. I think it's easy for people studying history to forget that they were just human beings like everyone else. They made mistakes, they had feelings, and people they cared about. I felt like I especially understood Nicholas and who he was as a tsar far better after I read this book than I did before.
Reading Nicholas and Alexandra made me think about history in a different way. It helped me understand Nicholas, Alix, Alexis, Rasputin, and the Bolshevik revolutionaries more.
Another aspect that surprised me about this account of the Romanov family is the amount of detail it went into Alexis and his battle with hemophilia. Everyone knows now that the tsarevich struggled throughout his whole life with hemophilia, inherited from his mother, but I had never really thought about how heartbreaking it was, and how Alexis' disease played a role in changing the course of history for Russia and the world.
It wrecks me to think that the tragic deaths of the Romanov family really happened, but they did. History is real. And it's crazy to think how every little thing is connected and how history has shaped the way the world is today.
Nicholas and Alexandra is a beautifully written testament to the Romanovs, in the hopes that their story won't ever be forgotten.
A nearly entirely personal history of the last tsar and his family, mostly sourced from their letters and journals (though written in that dramatic history style which offers a lot of inner emotions and thoughts beyond sources)
An absolute masterpiece, from start to finish. One of those books that leaves you in awe as a reader -- and makes you feel, as a writer, that there's no point in trying, because you'll never be that good. Which, of course, means reading was pure bliss.
Well that was depressing. It's not a surprise ending by any means but I still gasped at the end when it all went down. I really admire the genuine love & affection they had for each other as a family. Generally books that describe the monarchy are low on love. It's usually a lot of scheming and pushes for power with a family. At least they had each other if nothing else.