Rating: 
Summary: Lousy Book
Review: A story not to be missed. The audio version is also a treat. The clear enunciation and excellent accents by Alexandra Karma (narrator) help the listener follow the many characters and episodes described in this diary of a white Russian princess, Marie (Missie) Vassiltchikov, who, at the beginning of WW II found herself stranded in Berlin. An astute observer of human behavior and an intelligent communicator (English (fluent) is one of her languages), M. Vassiltchikov offers in-depth insight into the minds and motivations of the July 20th plotters (many of whom she first learned to know while working in the German Foreign Office-1940-1944). We also become intimately acquainted with those in her vast circle of friends and acquaintances incuding aristocrats, European royalty, diplomats, (many of whom were also involved in the military and government in numerous European capitals). A bi-product of this day to day account is witnessing M. Vassiltchikov's growth from a carefree aristocrat to that of a caring nurse, trying only to help where needed. She draws a full picture of her friends and acquainatences and provides in-depth insight into day-to day life in Germany in what was to become the most hideous of circumstances. Her wry commentary, usually saved for the irony she continually encounters --being able to eat oysters freely when not much else is available or to buy a new hat--the only clothing not rationed--add interest and humor and leave the reader feeling a part of the experience. John Kenneth Galbraith said it well, "One of the most remarkable documents to come out of the war, and nothing will ever quite match its calm and grace..." In terms of an audio/visual experience it ranks in tie, with the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. This one should be required listening, if not reading for every secondary student in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT TO BE MISSED! Remarkable! Memorable!
Review: Clear enunciation and excellent accents by Alexandra Karma (narrator) help the listener follow the many characters and episodes described in this diary of a white Russian princess, Marie (Missie) Vassiltchikov, who found herself stranded in Germany at the beginning of WW II. An astute observer of human behavior and an intelligent communicator (with fluent English as one of her languages), M. Vassiltchikov offers in-depth insight into the minds and motivations of the July 20th plotters who tried to kill Hitler (many of whom she first learned to know while working in the German Foreign Office-1940-1944). The listener also becomes intimately acquainted with those in her vast circle of friends and acquaintances incuding aristocrats, European royalty and diplomats,(many of whom were also involved in military and government in numerous European capitals and included descendants of Bismark, the Romanov's, and kings and queens of most of Europe's thrones). The book is filled with delightful character portraits and compelling day-to-day descriptions of life in Germany during this most tragic of times. And it is a wry sense of humor that fills quiet moments--though she usually saves her wit for the irony she continually encounters--being able to eat oysters freely when everything else is strictly rationed, or being able to purchase a new hat when all other clothing is scarce and rationed, if available at all. She does not provide answers, only insight. A bi-product of this day to day account is witnessing Missie's growth from a carefree aristocrat to that of a thoughtful nurse. John Kenneth Galbraith said it well, "One of the most remarkable documents to come out of the war, and nothing will ever quite match its calm and grace in utterly hideous circumstances." I have listened to this too many times to count. I hope to listen to it many more. In terms of an audio/visual experience is ranks in a three way tie, with two videos (the BBC version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Herman Wouk's The Winds of War and War and Remembrance series) as my all-time favorites. This one should be required listening, if not reading for every secondary student in the world.
Rating:
Summary: A great book - must read for anyone interest in this era.
Review: Don't listen to the review below. Yes, Missie did party and drink and dine, but only at the beginning of the book, when WWII was still called "the Phony War". She was a refugee from her country, a princess, who had to leave Lithuania because of Soviet rule. She can't seem to, at first, give up her lavish lifestyle of parties and such, but she never complains when it is time to give up that lifestyle. She and her sister run out of money, have to take care of their family, but they never complain. I would love to see a modern day aristocrat adapt the way Missie does. Also, the parties that Missie attends are hosted or attended by some of the most powerful and influential people during the second world war. Later on though, she is bombed out of house and home... the true reality of living in Germany under the constant destruction, fires, bombing, low flying "enemy" planes, and never being able to go back to how you once lived shines through. She is not a Nazi, she hates the Reich, and gives a great unbiased account of what it was like to live in Berlin during the war. It is a perspective that you've never heard before. She is friends and co-worker of many of those who attempted to kill Hitler, and supports them. She watches as people she loves and respects are thrown into jail and killed for being associated with those who tried to kill Hitler, and grieves that he wasn't killed. This is a great book. I've read as many books as I can about the holocaust experience from a Jewish perspective, and though Missie doesn't mention the Jews hardly at all (they shielded the Berliners from what was going on in the death camps) this is still a great book for me. The way the Jew were killed is horrid, and this sounds bad, I don't mean it, but WWII was more than that, believe it or not. She tells a different point of view. I've read it about 3 times, I am now on my fourth. It is fascinating to watch as Missie changes from aristocrat to a red cross nurse, trying to survive as best she can. get this book. You won't regret it. It is a true sotry of the death of everyone's lives in Europe because of the war.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating piece of work
Review: I am now 80% through reading this book and I can't put it down. It is an amazing description of the day-to-day life of a well-connected Russian princess who lived in Berlin from 1940 til the end of the war. The people that she met and lived with come alive through the description of her thoughts and actions on an almost daily basis. The author knew almost everyone who was worth knowing in Berlin during that period. How she survived the bombing and the Nazi purge of the conspirators who attempted to kill Hitler in July 1944 are most interesting.
Rating:
Summary: a remarkable life livedin an equally remarkable setting
Review: I was not sure exactly whatI would be reading in this book. A close friend gave it to me. From the first page to the end I was captured by the brillant insights of the author. Most by her capacity to be unjudgemental of others and herself where it would be easy to do so. ( I found some of her friends empty-headed; others brave and honorable in the service of a corrupt state.)"Missis'" own situations kept me asking myself could I have survived them and if so,could I be so objective? The book furnished me with a number of hard questions about objectivity in the service of one's survial
Rating:
Summary: Bombs, plots and Total War
Review: Missie Vassiltchikov was an aristocratic Russian who was living in Berlin at the beginning of World War 2. At the time the war started Missie was a habitué of the diplomatic party circuit and friends with many of the German aristocrats of her parents class. Missie, through her experiences in exile valued people on their own intrinsic worth and not based on their nationality and she proved to be a good judge of character. Many of her German friends were involved in the 20th July 1944 plot to kill Hitler and finish the war. Missy herself was lucky to escape the death squads that combed Germany afterwards and her diary chronicles the deaths of many of her close friends. It also clearly portrays the horror of living under the allied air raids against civilians, especially in Berlin, in the closing years against WW2 where luck, rather than good judgement, was a more assured method of survival. Missie brings home the fact that "total war" is a horror for all involved and that there were 'good guys' and 'bad guys' on both sides of the conflict, but in the end it was the ordinary civilians who paid the greatest price for the folly of their leaders. Possibly one of the areas that is an eye opener is the closing days of the war. An area little touched on in movies or documentaries. We get to see some of the human costs of the disgraceful Yalta agreement that the allies signed with Stalin and the starvation and ruin that prevailed in Europe the years after the war. For a civilian insight into the war on the continent this book is first class along with her sister Titania's autobiography.
Rating:
Summary: Bombs, plots and Total War
Review: Missie Vassiltchikov was an aristocratic Russian who was living in Berlin at the beginning of World War 2. At the time the war started Missie was a habitué of the diplomatic party circuit and friends with many of the German aristocrats of her parents class. Missie, through her experiences in exile valued people on their own intrinsic worth and not based on their nationality and she proved to be a good judge of character. Many of her German friends were involved in the 20th July 1944 plot to kill Hitler and finish the war. Missy herself was lucky to escape the death squads that combed Germany afterwards and her diary chronicles the deaths of many of her close friends. It also clearly portrays the horror of living under the allied air raids against civilians, especially in Berlin, in the closing years against WW2 where luck, rather than good judgement, was a more assured method of survival. Missie brings home the fact that "total war" is a horror for all involved and that there were 'good guys' and 'bad guys' on both sides of the conflict, but in the end it was the ordinary civilians who paid the greatest price for the folly of their leaders. Possibly one of the areas that is an eye opener is the closing days of the war. An area little touched on in movies or documentaries. We get to see some of the human costs of the disgraceful Yalta agreement that the allies signed with Stalin and the starvation and ruin that prevailed in Europe the years after the war. For a civilian insight into the war on the continent this book is first class along with her sister Titania's autobiography.
Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
Review: Missie Vassiltchikov's diary is the outstanding source for anyone who wants to achieve any sort of historical empathy with the German aristocracy during the war years. As a diary rather than a memoir we feel the horror of the bombs, or of the regime, at an extraordinary proximity; as a White Russian and not a German patriot, her criticism takes less for granted and, by witnessing everything on a personal level, the acute sensations of terror and loss are not diluted by blood and guts patriotism. An extraordinary woman in extraordinary times the result is a historical source acknowledged by A. J. P. Taylor to be of first rate importance and a testament to the bravery of the German patriots who tried to carry out the July 1944 coup of incredible dignity and persuasion. Having read these diaries I will never again tolerate being told that the July plotters were nothing but a nasty military junta in embryo. Wonderful stuff.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Perspective on Wartime Germany
Review: The author of these diaries was 23 when the war began in 1939, and canot be blamed for the rise of Nazism. She knew many German aristocrats, including ones who suffered the extreme penalty for opposing Hitler. I found fascinating the account of how life went on in aristocratic circles in Germany while bombs dropped and Hitler ran his terroristic regime. This is another view entirely from Victor Klemperer's monumental volumes entitled I Will Bear Witness, which I read with sheerest fascination on June 11, 1999, and April 7, 2000, since Missy, the author, almost seemed to bear a charmed life. But like Klemperer's diary, time seemed to move so slow as one reads, knowing that not till May 8, 1945 would the ordeal end--and not even then because life in Germany postwar was no bed of roses for some time. If one considers the author as the young woman she was, not one in a position to answer for the rise of Hitler or to impede his ruinous course, the diary is a moving tribute to the human spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Extrordinary
Review: This is one of the most extrordinary books I've ever read. Missy Vassiltchikov was friends with several of the key conspiritors in the attempt to assasinate Hitler, including Count Graf Van Der Schellenberg and Adam Von Trot zu Holz. It is amazing that given her close relationship with the conspiritors (even after their arrest!) that Missy Vasiltchikov escaped arrest and exectution herself. What's more amazing is that she kept a diary of her relationship with these people and documented her own desire to see Hitler eliminated. She filed these pages with the normal dispatches and documents of her civil service job and amazingly was never discovered. I enjoyed this book as a primary source and for the amazing exposure it provides of the conspiracty to assasinate Hitler. But I also enjoyed the writing--which is quite good--and the details of Missy Vasiltchikov's life, which are quite extrordinary. This book isn't for everyone, but if you're interested in modern German history, or in a story of courage and survival then I recommend it.
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