Rating: 
Summary: At last---
Review: Mr. Radzinskii has given us a documented glimpse of Russian History. He has put a 'face' and a human personality, on what has been portrayed as 'evil incarnate'. Rasputin was a man of a certain culture, era, and time-frame which influenced his life.
He had his strengths and weaknesses we all have.Many of his beliefs I do not agree with, but their are some I do agree with. Thank you Mr. Radzinskii for your efforts. I hope you will give us English-speaking folks more documented historical information about Russia. Any era you choose to
write about.
Rating: 
Summary: An eye-opener!
Review: Mr. Radzinsky did an admirable work with this narrative of the infamous staretz. I have never believed in the melodramatic, historically accepted account of Rasputin's murder and he has confirmed my suspicions. Bravo to his exhaustive detective work in trying to unravel the mystery of that fateful night in the Yassoupov mansion. This is a book for the serious reader of the last Emperor's reign. It can be slow going in places, but there is a wealth of information contained within these pages. It became very clear why Prince Yassoupov's version of the events is highly questionable. A very provocative book!
Rating:
Summary: Well-written and Informative
Review: Once again, the author of "The Last Tsar" has given us an insight into the final years of the Romanov dynasty. I always felt, when reading other books about this era, that the character of Rasputin was somewhat one-sided, and reading in other works that there was a missing file piqued my interest. Now we have the File brought into the open after decades, and Rasputin stands revealed as a much more understandable person. His influence on the tsar and tsarina was strong, with unfortunate consequences for their family and country. The information set out in this book is fascinating, particularly the quotes from the interrogation of witnesses we have often read about, but never before had the chance to hear "speak". My one quibble is that, either the author or the translator has a quirky writing style, and the unusual grammar and sentence structure caught my attention initially, and kept interfering with my reading. Once I became accustomed to it, however, it faded into the background and didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in early 20th century Russian history.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written and Informative
Review: Once again, the author of "The Last Tsar" has given us an insight into the final years of the Romanov dynasty. I always felt, when reading other books about this era, that the character of Rasputin was somewhat one-sided, and reading in other works that there was a missing file piqued my interest. Now we have the File brought into the open after decades, and Rasputin stands revealed as a much more understandable person. His influence on the tsar and tsarina was strong, with unfortunate consequences for their family and country. The information set out in this book is fascinating, particularly the quotes from the interrogation of witnesses we have often read about, but never before had the chance to hear "speak". My one quibble is that, either the author or the translator has a quirky writing style, and the unusual grammar and sentence structure caught my attention initially, and kept interfering with my reading. Once I became accustomed to it, however, it faded into the background and didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in early 20th century Russian history.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but could use a better editor
Review: Radzinksky certainly had access to some new material which has not been explored, and because of that this book is important. But as some of the previous reviewers have noted, the reader has to wade through the repetetive nature of Radzinsky's story, coupled with some possible translation problems, it does not make for a casual read.
However, if you can overcome these minor nuisances, the book tells an incredible story. If you do not know much about Rasputin's influence on the Romanov court, this will be an eye-opener. I was floored by the the level of influence Rasputine had over the Tsarina and in turn the Tsar.
His death reminds one of a Greek tragedy, but I will let you make the link yourself. Overall a good story, but poorly edited.
Rating:
Summary: Acomprehensive view of the inner world of the last tsar
Review: Radzinsky has painstakingly portrayed not only Rasputin but also the period during which he lived. Rasputin has remained a mysterious figure in Russian history and many have sought to find out the basic character of this peasant from Siberia who controlled the destiny of the empire through various nefarious means. Radzinsky provides a lot of information, historical background and a rich drama surrounding the people during this time. Just like a great Russian novel, the number of characters present is many. There are many intrigues and plots. Getting to know the real Rasputin remained an illusion. Whatever he might have been, he was a shrewd, quick learner.He had a great capacity to understand people. How else can otherwise he would have such powerful hold on people? The discussion on the Khlyst movement is interesting and it reminds me of the Tantric system in India where sex is not only not forbidden, but is an integral part of religious practice. The American readers will surely remember Rajnish who a decade or so ago tried to build a group of followers with his "Tantric" system. Radzinsky has taken great care to present the detailed points of view for this Khlyst movement. It is indeed difficult to comprehend the logic of this system blending pagan rituals. I find this book very important to get an inside look of the tsarist Russia. It takes an effort to maintain attention to this book, as the writing style is a bit dry and boring. Otherwise, it is must for you, if you are interested in this period of history.
Rating: 
Summary: An opportunity lost
Review: Radzinsky has uncovered some fascinating and invaluable information. Unfortunately he presents it in an irritating format that is practically unreadable. It would have been better had he just published a translation of the files that he found.
Rating: 
Summary: Very detailed, could have been shortened
Review: Radzinsky wrote a very detailed study about Rasputin. Based on previously unkown documentary materials and drawing on a wide range of archives he presents a thorough picture of the whereabouts of the notorious priest in Moscow and Russia. Unfortunately the author sometimes gets lost in details. Maybe it would have been better to present his material in a shortened from, leaving some details aside; or to ad an index to his book and an appendix which would have contained short biographies of the central figures in his study. Anyway this is a very important study which contributes a lot to a better understanding of this very important period in world history. This understanding could be pushed further by other studies about enigmatic figures in the political centres of major powers comparable to Rasputin...
Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: Radzinsky's "The Rasputin File," is a phenomenal and unmitigated disaster. What makes this book such an incredible disappointment is that the author has so much enticing material, and absolutely no cohesion, no sense of story, and even less self-control when it comes to editing.
First, a reader must be willing to concede that whoever translated this book might in fact be better off selling trinkets on some ferry boat cruise on the Volga River. The book is choppy and poorly edited. If you like sentence fragments, then this should be real book to savor for all 500 pages. A good translator may have been able to smooth out some of these sentences, instead they were just left to sit and pester the reader, obfuscating any intelligible meaning. In fact, the more of these I came across, the more I tried to make sense of them. Needless to say, there's some quality time, I'll never get back.
I appreciated and enjoyed "The Last Tsar," by Radzinsky and have read at least 15 other books on Rasputin and the fall of the Romanovs. I was eager to pick this book up and see what sleuthing Radzinsky had completed. To be sure there's a lot of gold in these pages, but there is a lot of slag and ore that has to be processed. Some of the detail is just unnecessary and offers little to the reader for the time they invest reading this tome. The other bothersome thing is there is virtually no crafting of this vivid period of Russian history. Any sense of story and wonder is sucked right out of the book by constant section breaks and deep probing into insignificant characters.
Radzinsky often repeats himself, quoting and covering the ground he's already went over in an obvious attempt to hop back on the path of some kind of semblance and narrative.
A reader can pick up many new insights if they stick with it; then again, most readers can also pick up another book, too. It is only because of the new research contained here that this book is even worth any stars (in the Amazon.com rating system).
This book should only be touched by hardcore Russian history buffs or members of the Khlyst who like whipping themselves into a frenzy of ecstatic agony.
Rating:
Summary: Translation or Talent?
Review: The story of a fascinating, mysterious character ' devil or angel ' the life of Rasputin his personal involvement with the last Czar, his wife and children at a time when the whole world was looking to Russia and holding its breath should be the stuff of classic story telling, history writ large and stranger than fiction and yet' alas, disappointment. I have read several books about the crazed monk and have been disappointed by them all. Perhaps the time, the events, the tragedies are on such a scale that no contemporary history writer has the talent to do the story justice. 'The Rasputin File' is a miss and not a near one. Perhaps it is the translation but somehow I doubt it. I could never get comfortable with this book ' it is a difficult read with out having to be and only the character's and the time make continued reading compelling. Perhaps a work of historical fiction would be a better approach. In any event where oh where is a Dostoyevsky or a Tolstoy when you need them. I guess those kind of guys don't pop-up very often.
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