The Lost Fortune of the Tsars

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story of vanished wealth and history
Review: So much of the fascination the Russian Tsars still hold for us today is connected with their great wealth and fabulous possessions. William Clarke's book is a detailed examination of the sources of the property of the House of Romanov before World War I and of its disposition and possible whereabouts today. In the process of his search Clarke also proved and disproved several theories as to the fate of the wealth, clearing some notable persons of some unsavory accusations

Rating:
Summary: Missed opportunities
Review: Whilst Clarke does an admirable job of tracing the wealth of the Tsar he missed his best opportunity - in the United States. He missed opportunities to demonstrate that some of the very people he writes about - George Romanosky and Sidney Reilly to name a few - were attempting to arrange letters of credit at the New York City Bank. Moreover the failed conclusion on the link between Sidney Reilly and the Remington Rifle Company is an oversight that can not be excused.

It would have been overly generous to grant more than one star because he could have shed so much more light on the trail if he had not gotten off the trail prematurely. His effort was brave and worthwhile but I was severly disappointed in the outcome. Perhaps he should have employed a top notch research assistant in the United States.