Peter Christopher (3) (1941–)

If you only have time to read one book regarding The Romanovs, Russian history, and the Russian revolution, this should be the one!

Lush in photography, rich in detail, stunningly organized and exquisitely written, this is a gem which chronicles the opulence of the Romanovis and vividly contrasts this to the brutal massacre that ended their lives and the rule of the Tsars of Russia.

The author and photographer show the before and after of the lush tranquility of summer and winter palaces and show more of yachts and compare this with the captivity of the royal family at Ekaterinburg and their murder in the basement of the "house of special purpose".

I've read a lot of Russian history, yet this book contained tidbits I didn't know. For example, the precursor and ominous signs which pointed to a doomed ending were rife from the beginning.

The shabbily erected accommodations for the populous during the coronation celebration left hundreds dead and trampled as peasants fought for souvenir mugs and beer and wine to fill them.

Knowing this event had occurred, still, the fantastic over-the-top coronation ball occurred, leaving a very bad perception from the start.

Warned of Alexandra's dangerous obsession with the mad monk Rasputin, Nicholas passively ignored the possible repercussion.

Involvement in WWI was disastrous as once again Nicholas' passivity and lack of leadership played a major role in the downfall of him and his family.

Hiding his son Alexi's hemophilia from those who could have had sympathy again proved an inability to judge the masses.

I highly recommend this coffee table style book. show less

This lovely coffee table sized book contains hundreds of archival photographs taken by Nicholas and his family, as well as modern day shots of many of the residences and other locations related to the tsar. The text focuses on the personalities of Nicholas and Alexandra, the out of touch nature of Nicholas’ rule, and the tragic imprisonment and execution of the royal family. Not particularly well-researched, the text should serve as an embellishment to the photos, not as an authoritative show more history. But the beautiful photographs make the book well worth picking up, even if only to browse for an afternoon. show less

I thought this book was gorgeous. The history of Nicholas II and Alexandra's family up to the revolution was presented with their own family photos as illustration. It was a bit jarring to realize that like many families today the Russian monarchy enjoyed taking snapshots of their children. Family photos tend to reveal things that posed portraits do not. With this book, which is arranged chronologically we see glimpses of silly little girls and their parents. I particularly liked the photo show more of the daughters rollerskating on the deck of the Tsar's yacht, and the photo of the girls with shaved heads after their bouts with measles. History is made real when the persons involved can evoke a feeling be it good or bad. It's easy to understand political motivations for the revolution, but at the same time the monarchy were individuals as well. This book does a nice job of causing real thought by presenting people rather than figureheads, they way they saw each other. show less

This was a nice book but the majority of it is photographs, so don't look for a detailed biography here. It is still a cute book with some great pictures and some fascinating bits of history, but do note that this book offers some speculation on Anastasia's survival - this was before her remains were found/and her demise confirmed (Anna Anderson is mentioned in the book, she was proven beyond a doubt to NOT be Anastasia via DNA testing)