Russian History

When I was in school, my mom often assigned me books to read. Half for my own learning and half so she'd know if it was a book my siblings would enjoy as they are not as enthusiastic about reading as I am. Often I enjoyed these books immensely in spite of them being nonfiction. Among these books I enjoyed are a series of books on Russian historical figures written by Robert K. Massie.
First, a little about the author...

Robert Kinloch Massie III (born January 5, 1929) is an American historian and biographer. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613 to 1917.




THE BOOKS
The books that I read written by this author are as follows, listed from the one I liked best to the least (though still very much liked).

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

This book is about the greatest Russian empress who ever lived. It goes through her life slowly building up the character before you so you get a feel for what she was like even as you see her progress towards the throne. You experience every triumph and every downfall, every joy and every tear the woman went through. A thick book for sure but worthwhile to read every page.


Nicholas and Alexandra

This book is about the relationship between the last Tsar of Russia and Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alexandra. It starts of the beginning of their time together and goes through every change in their life and every important detail that would eventually cause the end of the Romanov rule. It shows Nicholas' reaction to the births of his girls and finally his son, how he dealt with the opposition of the people of his country. It tells of the strange relationship between Alexandra and the infamous Rasputin and the lives of the Romanov princesses and prince. A heartbreaking story to read but very interesting.

Peter the Great

The ruler who was feared by many and loved by others, who was a contradiction and likely was not an easy person to live with. This well written book goes through Peter's rise to the throne which he shared with his brother, Ivan. It tells of how he expanded the Russian kingdom far beyond the original borders and the changes he made to the operation of the kingdom. This was actually the first of the books that my mom had me read and it was one I couldn't put down so I knew the rest of the books by this author would be an easy read for me. It is thick but it is a good one!

These books are available on Amazon and I've included the links in the titles of each. Read them for yourself and let me know what you thought!

Until next time,