Peter Christopher (3) (1941–)

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 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.… (more)