The Romanovs 1818-1959: Alexander II of Russia and His Family

Rating:
Summary: Less is more...in this case it's still less
Review: If you've read any of Mr. Van Der Kistes works you will usually find them to be sound bytes rather than a volume filled with information. The Romanovs is a decent book, but hardly worth this price. Mr. Van Der Kiste as usual skims the surface, doesn't even go near his subject matter. He crams a history of a family, into two hundred pages, five generations, and at least 100 members. Some he mentions some he doesn't. And unfortunately it's been done much better. Perry and Pleshakov recently did a very good job with The Flight of the Romanovs. If one is going to tackle such a subject, one should be able to provide information, rather than sound bytes. But this is the fourth book I've read by Mr. Van Der Kiste, and they're all pretty much the same. Lacking in substance.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting history of the Romanov family
Review: Mr. Van Der Kiste has once again given the reader a history of a royal family that presents the members as real people and not just historical personages. He also mentions collateral members of the family, not just the czars. Many photos enhance the text. A very enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting history of the Romanov family
Review: Mr. Van Der Kiste has once again given the reader a history of a royal family that presents the members as real people and not just historical personages. He also mentions collateral members of the family, not just the czars. Many photos enhance the text. A very enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but also read ...
Review: This book on the Romanovs is a good description of the Romanov dynasty in its last century, concentrating primarily on the lives of Tsar Alexander II and his descendants. It does a good job covering the political and military events of the time, but is quite sketchy on the personal lives and characters of the last three Tsars and their relatives. This is a good book to have along with Charlotte Zeepvat's "Romanov Autumn", which covers the same time period but with a more personal slant.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but also read ...
Review: This book on the Romanovs is a good description of the Romanov dynasty in its last century, concentrating primarily on the lives of Tsar Alexander II and his descendants. It does a good job covering the political and military events of the time, but is quite sketchy on the personal lives and characters of the last three Tsars and their relatives. This is a good book to have along with Charlotte Zeepvat's "Romanov Autumn", which covers the same time period but with a more personal slant.