Rating: 
Summary: Informed & Brilliant.
Review: A tour-de-force of superb research. Were it not for this fine book, my own work on Rasputin would never have been possible.
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Summary: Radzinsky dispels the myths
Review: After more than 8 decades of myths surrounding the mysterious life and death of Grigori Rasputin, Mr. Radzinsky has written a convincing account, based on an exhaustive search for primary research materials, dispelling many of them. While presenting evidence that robs the legend of much of its fascination, he alternately suggests that other aspects of Rasputin's life and devious rise to power were just as incredible, i.e. his attempts to stop Czar Nicholas from helping to ignite the fuel that led millions to their deaths in the First World War. The book also is a fine account of the last years of the Romanov dynasty and particular individuals involved in the Rasputin saga, particularly Felix Yusupov. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Rasputin, the Romanovs, and Russian, European or World History.
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Summary: The Rasputin File falls Short
Review: As a person who enjoys Russian History and has read The Last Tsar by Radzinsky I was throughly disappointed. I loved the Last Tsar, but for some reason this book just did not do it for me. Rasputin is an enigmatic figure who should come alive through this book, but the book is boring. It is not well written or well translated. It's confusing. The information about Rasputin is very interesting but I could not get through this book. If you want a good book on Russian History, go with The Last Tsar.
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Summary: Rasputin - The Last Word ?
Review: Based on the information found in a recently discovered file , the author ( a Russian playwright ), tries to unravel the enigma of Rasputin`s personality and the events that led up to the destruction of the Romanov dynasty . It begins with a sketchy account of Rasputin`s childhood in Siberia and his formative years of wandering the Siberian hinterland that would eventually lead to his initiation into the secret khlyst sect , but it is when he is introduced to the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia and supposedly saves their son`s life with his mystical healing powers that this story comes to life . What follows is a tale of Machivellian intrigues at the royal court and at the highest political level inspired by the Russian peasant`s influence over the tsarina , his debauchery with high society women and common prostitutes , and finally his murder that would uncannily reflect the murder of the royal family , all this to a background of forboding tension in a troubled country ripe for revolution . Because of the nature of the subject the author has had to surmise on certain details in the story and also on the motivating forces that impelled the protagonists to act in the way that they did , but he seems to have used a lot of commonsense and his theories certainly seem reasonable . This book also throws up some astounding revelations - did you know that this Siberian peasant delayed the onset of the first world war singlehandedly ( if you believe the author ) . All in all this was a very readable account of a fascinating period in Russian history .
Rating: 
Summary: good text--poor editing
Review: Edvard Radzinsky has created a fine story, albeit not one of first-class historical content. He maintain the readers interest thoughout. However, the work suffers from poor editing. Sentence fragments are a regular occurrence. Even worse, are the obvious errors on dates. His newspaper style of writing also detracts from confidence in the work's historical basis.
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Summary: Radzinsky's Time Machine
Review: Edvard Radzinsky is like the character in the HG Wells story who has successfully built and operated a time machine. His chosen destination is the Court of Tsar Nicholas II and he inhabits that world like a native as anyone familiar with "The Last Tsar" knows. Radzinsky's readers become more like his traveling companion as he takes us through the former Soviet archives piecing his story together from first hand documents that no other author on this period has had access to. It is this ability to fuse the past with the present, so brilliantly done in the first book, that makes "The Rasputin File" equally intense and immediate. One example from many: "I received the last batch of unpublished documents about Rasputin in the Siberian archives. Among them was an inventory of property belonging to Rasputin immediately after his murder...I now knew every chair in his house and every glass on his table...Now I had seen what he saw. And I had heard his way of speaking, too, which had been left behind in his writings." I think the passage just quoted shows how Radzinsky's interest functions on a multiplicity of levels - a detective's love of uncovering the unknown; a scientist's fascination with minute detail; a mystic's compulsion to enter the very spirit of his subject, and even a portrait painter's need to capture as accurate a likeness as possible. Add to this the fact that the author is a Russian engaged in an act of almost public expiation for a National Crime and you have a work that packs an emotional charge far beyond the fantastic events of the story itself. The National Crime is, of course, the execution of the Romanovs. Despite the fact that the book focuses on Rasputin, it is their tragedy that underpins the narrative and the circumstances of their deaths are never far from the author's mind. As he demonstrated in "The Last Tsar" Radzinsky continues to be a master of the dramatic association, pulling together isolated events from the past and finding the common, often ironic, connection: "At the tsar's expense, a magnificent pavilion was erected over St. Simeon's shrine. And the procession of the cross...was headed by Father Ioann Storozhev. The same Ioann Storozhev, a priest from the city of Ekaterinburg, who two days before their execution in 1918 would celeberate holy communion with them and give them the blessing that would be their last." These books, and I consider "The Last Tsar" and "The Rasputin File" to be all of a piece, succeed as history, biography, drama, literature, and, on a subtler level, as a mystical exploration of the Russian character and soul. I hope Radzinsky will complete a trilogy with a work devoted to the Empress Alexandra.
Rating:
Summary: Not as great
Review: every thing that was writen so far by edward radzinsky is a 5 star book
being able to go in depth to the archaive of the old soviet union
give us the readers an opportunity to participate in a real thtiler in evey one of his books
Rating:
Summary: a thriler
Review: every thing that was writen so far by edward radzinsky is a 5 star book
being able to go in depth to the archaive of the old soviet union
give us the readers an opportunity to participate in a real thtiler in evey one of his books
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing description of the corruption of power
Review: First of all let me stress that this review is based on the Dutch translation of the book. Apparently the English version contains some really atrocious English, which was the reason for me to try the well-translated Dutch version instead. Rasputin is one of the most controversial and mysterious figures in Russian history. What was his exact role in Russian politics, what was his influence on the tsar and his family and in what way did he die? Apart from the usual sources, Edward Radzinsky uses in this extensive biography previously unknown material which a friend of him has bought during an auction. The author shows the influence that Rasputin had at the court and how it gradually increased, especially his influence on the wife of the tsar, until in the end he is really the one who takes all the important decisions, by turning the words of the tsarina into prophesies. We also see how he turns from a "wise old man" into a money spending,...drunk who meets his inevitable end. There are quite a few characters in the books and the names are quite difficult to remember for non-Russians, so it is wise to read the book at a good pace in order to keep up with the events. All in all a very interesting book about a mysterious man and a revealing insight into a very important period of Russian history..
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING STORY
Review: From the beginning of the book, I was hooked. But, I wish he had disclosed who had the Files until 1992. My only critique is that I would like to have had more information on the owner of the missing information.
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