Romanovs

Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY WELL-RESEARCHED AND INTERESTING
Review: A very well-researched and extremely interesting book that provides many answers to what really happened after the massacre of the Romanov family. The book is fascinating simply for its chapters on Anna Anderson alone. Massie, however continues to do what he did in his previous book about the Romanovs: he tends to sugar-coat their lives, giving them an unrealistic, fairy-tale existence, rather than letting the family's true personality shine through. I also agree with the previous reviewer who said that a family tree would have been a nice addition! Still, very interesting and well-worth the investment.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book about the discovery of the Romanov remains
Review: A wonderful historical-scientific-mystery surrounding the discovery of nine skeletons dug up in Siberia in 1991. Were these the remain of the last czar of Russia, NicholasII and his family and servants? Author Robert K. Massie takes you step-by-step through the political, scientific, and legal haggeling over these remains. Quite a bit of the book is dedicated to "Anna Anderson", the woman who for several decades claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the czar's youngest daughter. The author makes several references that this woman, whom he rightly calls "the claimant" closely resembled the Grand Duchess. Yet the photographs in the book are mostly of the modern day scientist who identified the nine skeletons. This reader would have preferred some photos comparing the two women. Some readers may become confused by the huge amount of people (and names) involved with the identification of the Romanov remains. Many of the long resumes of the scientists involved would have best been left for an appendix. The very last chapter of the book, which ties into the first chapter beautifully, describes a close, loving family during the last weeks, days, and hours of their lives. This lovely, sad ending to this well written book helped this reviewer see the Romanovs as real people, not just as the thoughtless royalty history has portrayed them or at the mysterious bones they left behind

Rating:
Summary: MASSIE DOES IT AGAIN!
Review: After I had finished reading this book, I was not at all disappointed. The topic was well-researched by Massie. I could really sense a connection between the topic and Massie. I felt as if I was reading a mystery story.Massie displayed the same intimacy he had with the subject matter, as he did in _Nicholas and Alexandra_(another masterpiece written by Massie).The first chapter actually moved me to tears. When he started the section on the tests run on the remains found in Ekaterinburg, it was like I was watching a documentary, because his characterizations were so vivid. I strongly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Robert K. Massie's books are wonderful reads
Review: Another well-written book by Robert K. Massie about the Romanov family and their tragic fate. The book begins at the death of the romanovs and explaining in great detail their death, and how their bodys were hidden for so many years. It present's evidence about people claiming to be the romanovs themself - even one of the most famous - Anna Anderson. It points out both sides to those who do and do not believe she was Anastasia Romanov. I myself do not velieve that she was due to the evidence this book presents - DNA, and how her story does not hold up at all. This is a wonderful book!

Check out Nicholas & Alexandra, Anastasia'a Album, and the Last Tsar as well.

Rating:
Summary: Final Chapter - good history
Review: I first read 'Nicholas and Alexandra' in 1987 on a sick day from school. I loved it immediately and it began for me a lifelong interest in Russian Imperial history. I now have many books on the subject, but this is still one of the best, and it could also be considered the sequel to 'Nicholas and Alexandra.'

It starts by describing how the grave was found, how it was excavated, what was done to the bones in the coroner's office in Ekaterinburg where they were stored. It describes the purely idiotic way that the team that eventually identified whose bodies they were were chosen (in such a way as to seriously offend the goverment of the US). Apparently the Russian team thinks that the missing daughter's body is Maria Nikolaievna, the American team thinks it's Anastasia Nikolaievna. (In 1918, a couple of days after the grisly execution, Yurovsky determined that two of the bodies, Alexei and his mother, should be dug up and burnt. Anastasia's body was burnt by mistake instead of her mother's. Decomposition had bloated the body to appear as that of a middle-aged woman.)

Then the book describes how Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed since 1920 to be HIH Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaievna, was, once and for all, identified as the woman she was accused of being back in the '30s.

Then it goes on to talk about the current Romanov family, and the current pretender to the non-existant Russian throne.

It is a must-have for any Russian Imperial history buff, and should be at least mildly interesting to people who like history.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling answers to the Romanov mysteries
Review: I found the book for the most part fascinating and intriguing, especially the details in the first 2 parts, the execution, the cover up, the finding of the bones and the identification. There were some parts here that were a bit tedious for the non scientist but necessary to the solution. The only part that really got endlessly tedious was the court fighting over the tissue samples of Anna Anderson, the claimant. All I wanted to know a that point was, is she or isn't she for heaven's sake? Being fascinated with geneology, the chapter on the living Romanovs was most interesting, but I feel the biggest flaw of the book was not including a 'family tree'. It drove me nuts! I had to try to make my own. The last chapter bringing the reader back to the begining was the most moving of all.

Rating:
Summary: Appropriate afterword for "Nicholas and Alexandra"
Review: I'm guessing that most people buying "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" have already read Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" (first published in 1967) but if you haven't, I highly recommend it as "The Romanov's" is basically a final update to the family's tragic tale. Also, Massie's first book on Russia's last Tsar will make this book more personal to the reader as one gets a sentimental appreciation of who Nicholas and his family were from "Nicholas and Alexandra."
This book is far different than Massie's other historical epics as he takes on the role of an investigative journalist rather than a historian. Massie is on the front-lines, from DNA labs to court rooms, searching for a final answer as to whose skeletons were unearthed by an Ekaterinburg resident in the late 70's.
Massie leaves the reader with a plethora of factual information that all but ends one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. Using DNA tests, Massie proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Russia's royal family and servants are the ones that were buried beneath the road outside Ekaterinburg. He also proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that Anna Anderson, who was the 20th century's greatest con artist, was not Anastasia, Tsarevna of Russia, but a mere Polish peasant.
With all the crime solving, the book at times gets bogged down into quotes, lengthy (but pertinent) explanations of scientific facts and petty arguments between scientists and lawyers, which limits Massie's masterful writing-style to a minimum. After reading all his books, the only sections that come close to capturing his colorful and accomplished style of prose are the first and last chapters.
That said, I'm very glad Massie was the one to tell the Tsar's final story and I highly recommend it to any reader of "Nicholas and Alexandra."

Here's a few items of note:

- A previous reviewer said that Massie does not explain what happened to the last two bodies, presumably of Alexei and either Anastasia or Marie, but in fact, Massie does with quotes of Yurovsky's writings on page 31 and again on page 68. By burning the two bodies and spreading the ashes and embers around, their remains were not preserved like the remaining nine bodies by being entombed in clay, so the final two missing family members in all likelihood will never be found. Another reviewer wished they had a family tree to keep the Romanovs straight. In my edition of "Nicholas and Alexandra", there is a family tree that shows all of Nicholas II's brothers and sister and one could make a photo copy from that book and add in all the nephews, nieces, cousins, etc.

- Also, since this book was published in 1995, a few things have happened in Russia regarding the Romanovs. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, three of their children and four family servants were buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. The Russian Orthodox Church still questions the legitimacy of the bones as being the Tsar but the church did partake in the funeral march and burial. In a poll taken at the time, only 47 percent of Russians believed they remains were of Nicholas II and his family. And in 2001, the Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna, was exhumed in Denmark and reburied alongside her husband, Tsar Alexander III, in the same cathedral.

Rating:
Summary: Appropriate afterword for "Nicholas and Alexandra"
Review: I'm guessing that most people buying "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" have already read Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" (first published in 1967) but if you haven't, I highly recommend it as "The Romanov's" is basically a final update to the family's tragic tale. Also, Massie's first book on Russia's last Tsar will make this book more personal to the reader as one gets a sentimental appreciation of who Nicholas and his family were from "Nicholas and Alexandra."
This book is far different than Massie's other historical epics as he takes on the role of an investigative journalist rather than a historian. Massie is on the front-lines, from DNA labs to court rooms, searching for a final answer as to whose skeletons were unearthed by an Ekaterinburg resident in the late 70's.
Massie leaves the reader with a plethora of factual information that all but ends one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. Using DNA tests, Massie proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Russia's royal family and servants are the ones that were buried beneath the road outside Ekaterinburg. He also proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that Anna Anderson, who was the 20th century's greatest con artist, was not Anastasia, Tsarevna of Russia, but a mere Polish peasant.
With all the crime solving, the book at times gets bogged down into quotes, lengthy (but pertinent) explanations of scientific facts and petty arguments between scientists and lawyers, which limits Massie's masterful writing-style to a minimum. After reading all his books, the only sections that come close to capturing his colorful and accomplished style of prose are the first and last chapters.
That said, I'm very glad Massie was the one to tell the Tsar's final story and I highly recommend it to any reader of "Nicholas and Alexandra."

Here's a few items of note:

- A previous reviewer said that Massie does not explain what happened to the last two bodies, presumably of Alexei and either Anastasia or Marie, but in fact, Massie does with quotes of Yurovsky's writings on page 31 and again on page 68. By burning the two bodies and spreading the ashes and embers around, their remains were not preserved like the remaining nine bodies by being entombed in clay, so the final two missing family members in all likelihood will never be found. Another reviewer wished they had a family tree to keep the Romanovs straight. In my edition of "Nicholas and Alexandra", there is a family tree that shows all of Nicholas II's brothers and sister and one could make a photo copy from that book and add in all the nephews, nieces, cousins, etc.

- Also, since this book was published in 1995, a few things have happened in Russia regarding the Romanovs. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, three of their children and four family servants were buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. The Russian Orthodox Church still questions the legitimacy of the bones as being the Tsar but the church did partake in the funeral march and burial. In a poll taken at the time, only 47 percent of Russians believed they remains were of Nicholas II and his family. And in 2001, the Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna, was exhumed in Denmark and reburied alongside her husband, Tsar Alexander III, in the same cathedral.

Rating:
Summary: A fine tribute to Russian history and modern science
Review: In the early morning hours of July 17, 1918, in Ekaterinburg (formerly Tobolsk), Siberia, the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his immediate family and three close friends were killed in a cellar room. It happened to destroy the past, to pave way toward a new future, as a new order was sweeping through Russia. In that cellar room in the Ipatiev House, where the Romanovs had been held captive for 78 days and later executed, a new mystery was born, for no one knew what really happened to the last Tsar of Russia and his family. Rumors soon began spreading: there were survivors, there were sightings of people in the Imperial family. The investigations of the day, carried out in good faith by a legal expert named Nicholas Sokolov, made it clear that no remains of the Romanovs were ever found. Robert K. Massie, in this phenomenal book, writes about these mysteries, beginning with an account of what happened to the Romanovs on that fateful night, when they were roused from their sleep by the man who turned out to be their executioner, Yakov Yurovsky. He later examines the events and efforts of several key personalities of the early 1990s that culminated in solving this old mystery.

The bulk of his book is devoted to two issues: (1) An account of what happened to the remains of the Romanovs, and the efforts of post-Communist Russia and the West to scientifically determine if nine skeletons exhumed from a mass grave in Siberia in July 1991 really were the remains of the Imperial family (pp. 3-139). (2) The issue of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed, for over sixty years, that she was Grand Duchess Anastasia and had escaped from the carnage at the Ipatiev House. Was she really a Romanov? Massie recalls the secluded and bizarre life of Anna Anderson (one of her many known names) and the efforts to do DNA testing on a sample of her tissue and with those of the real Romanovs. The scientists' and Massie's conclusion is shocking...sorry to break this news: this woman perpetrated the biggest and longest lie in the 20th Century - she was not even remotely related to the Romanovs! (pp. 144-251).

Throughout the book, Massie places a lot of emphasis on the academic and legal bickering that took place over these controversial efforts to solve this mystery. It makes for very frustrating reading, to learn about the stubbornness and bizarre grounds upon which different parties based their agendas and stances in the form of legal wrangling. What is satisfying, however, is the happy ending in this story: ghosts of the past are laid to rest and the ongoing mystery is solved, even though there remain those who refuse to accept this fact.

In the last two parts of the book, Massie addresses the Romanov émigrés throughout the world and their stances on these controversial issues. Many of them are current pretenders to the Russian throne; a source of even more infighting among the existing descendants of the Imperial family. The book tops off with an account of what the Imperial family did and experienced in their 78-day stay at the Ipatiev House, leading up to that fateful night when the end came for them all. In all, Massie's book is a wonderful combination of history and current events (now to be called 'recent history' in light of when the book came out, in 1995), a perfect tribute to the history of Russia and the benefits and meaning of science in unraveling issues long thought dead.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Massie describes all events following the discovery of the czar's remains in scientific detail. He also manages to keep the readers attention through a thorough discussion of DNA. The Imperial family comes alive once more through this book, and one wonders what punishment the Russian people would inflict upon Lenin today for his horrible deed. The subject of Britain's royal relations to the Romanovs is also discussed. Massie's description of DNA disproving the claim of Anna Anderson is also quite compelling.