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Loading... Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Womanby Robert K. Massie
   No current Talk conversations about this book. 1   a1stitcher | Jun 22, 2019 |  I don't usually read non-fiction and a book of this length is particularly daunting, but this was my book club selection for April. I have to admit I found it rather fascinating and read more thoroughly (and skimmed less) than I expected. I certainly learned a lot about Catherine the Great and a period in Russian history that I knew little about. (  )1 Thebrownbookloft | Jun 29, 2018 | Worth reading, but while Caterine's life was certainly dramatic, the suthor sometimes writes as if a romance novel. (  ) dasam | Jun 21, 2018 | Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia in the mid- to late-18th century. This looks back at her entire life and reign. I listened to the audio and there were parts that were ok and parts that I liked. I suppose (no surprise to me) I enjoyed the parts about her personal life more than about her reign. In fact, I probably enjoyed the first half better for that reason – the second half was after she became empress. I think I’ve read one other book about her, but had forgotten about her very childlike husband, Peter III (the grandson of Peter the Great). I thought it was a decent biography, though another friend who likes history was bored by it. In my opinion, though, it was much better than the author’s book on Peter the Great! ( ) LibraryCin | Apr 30, 2018 | Instant classic! What a fantastic book about the life of Catherine the Great. Massie is an historical writer of the highest order and this book truly meets the cliche that it reads like a novel. Massie is a master story-teller and this really was a book that was hard to put down. He manages the feat of examining, in detail (but not bogging the story down in it) Catherine's dealings with love, war, art, economics, politics, philosophy, etc... all aspects of her life are discussed. I also really enjoy how Massie takes the time to give a detailed yet concise background of the major characters that come in and out of Catherine's life. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Russian history or simply a great read. (  ) msaucier818 | Apr 9, 2018 |
 Imperial biographer Robert K. Massie paints a satisfying portrait of Catherine the woman and Catherine the ruler, and her attempts to modernize and westernize Russia.
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Catherine the Great was an amazing, strong woman. It was a pleasure to read more about her. What drama she lived through-and sometimes was responsible for. I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially those not used to reading "dry" history. (