Peter the Great (Critical Issues in History Ser)

Rating:
Summary: Not for the general reader
Review: I found this book to be disjointed and difficult to read. The sentences were awkward, and I detected several grammatical errors throughout the book that could potentially confuse the reader (they confused me!) The first half of the book centered on Russian politics and aristocracy; Peter didn't play much of a role until the latter part of the text. Even then, the chronology was confusing. Daughters that had never been mentioned suddenly got married; Peter died in one chapter, while his military strategy was described in the next, along with somewhat random details of his death that had been previously left out. Perhaps it's my lack of familiarity with Russian history, but I had great difficulty telling who was who and what happened when within the biography. In addition, it was rather boring in the beginning. However, the book did do a good job of providing the reader with a mostly unbiased view of Peter and the Russia he ruled, as well as an understanding of the political machinations of his day. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it for general readers.

Rating:
Summary: A terse, compact, yet artfully presented biography
Review: Superbly written by Paul Bushkovitch (Professor of History, Yale University), Peter The Great is a terse, compact, yet artfully presented biography of one of Russia's greatest and most influential rulers. Portraying the culture and problems of Russia at the end of the seventeenth century, and examining the events of Peter's reign and its legacy to history, Peter The Great is a informed, informative, and thoroughly absorbing study which is very highly recommended for students of Russian History and non-specialist general readers with an appreciation of the art and science of biography.