The Romanovs: the Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie
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Book Reviews of The Romanovs: the Final Chapter
Book Review: Wonderful yet again.
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderfully written and very interesting. I could not put this book down. My only regret is that Robert Massie does not have an entire library of his work for me to read.Book Review: Appropriate afterword for "Nicholas and Alexandra"
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm guessing that most people buying "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" have already read Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" (first published in 1967) but if you haven't, I highly recommend it as "The Romanov's" is basically a final update to the family's tragic tale. Also, Massie's first book on Russia's last Tsar will make this book more personal to the reader as one gets a sentimental appreciation of who Nicholas and his family were from "Nicholas and Alexandra."This book is far different than Massie's other historical epics as he takes on the role of an investigative journalist rather than a historian. Massie is on the front-lines, from DNA labs to court rooms, searching for a final answer as to whose skeletons were unearthed by an Ekaterinburg resident in the late 70's.
Massie leaves the reader with a plethora of factual information that all but ends one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. Using DNA tests, Massie proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Russia's royal family and servants are the ones that were buried beneath the road outside Ekaterinburg. He also proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that Anna Anderson, who was the 20th century's greatest con artist, was not Anastasia, Tsarevna of Russia, but a mere Polish peasant.
With all the crime solving, the book at times gets bogged down into quotes, lengthy (but pertinent) explanations of scientific facts and petty arguments between scientists and lawyers, which limits Massie's masterful writing-style to a minimum. After reading all his books, the only sections that come close to capturing his colorful and accomplished style of prose are the first and last chapters.
That said, I'm very glad Massie was the one to tell the Tsar's final story and I highly recommend it to any reader of "Nicholas and Alexandra."
Here's a few items of note:
- A previous reviewer said that Massie does not explain what happened to the last two bodies, presumably of Alexei and either Anastasia or Marie, but in fact, Massie does with quotes of Yurovsky's writings on page 31 and again on page 68. By burning the two bodies and spreading the ashes and embers around, their remains were not preserved like the remaining nine bodies by being entombed in clay, so the final two missing family members in all likelihood will never be found. Another reviewer wished they had a family tree to keep the Romanovs straight. In my edition of "Nicholas and Alexandra", there is a family tree that shows all of Nicholas II's brothers and sister and one could make a photo copy from that book and add in all the nephews, nieces, cousins, etc.
- Also, since this book was published in 1995, a few things have happened in Russia regarding the Romanovs. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, three of their children and four family servants were buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. The Russian Orthodox Church still questions the legitimacy of the bones as being the Tsar but the church did partake in the funeral march and burial. In a poll taken at the time, only 47 percent of Russians believed they remains were of Nicholas II and his family. And in 2001, the Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna, was exhumed in Denmark and reburied alongside her husband, Tsar Alexander III, in the same cathedral.
Book Review: A strange request
Summary: 4 Stars
My 12-year-old daughter gave me this book as a Christmas present with the request that I "read it then teach it to me." So I picked it up and started reading it on Christmas day, and I finished it one day later. It is a gripping story of the tragic, mysterious, and fascinating consequences of what happened in a few short minutes ninety years ago. Half of the book considers who died in the infamous Siberian cellar; the other half considers who survived. Massie is an excellent storyteller as he recounts the evidence gleaned from old reports, purported witnesses, and conflicting scientific studies of the bones that were recovered from a burial pit near the site of the murders. All of his evidence points toward the conclusion that it was the Romanovs who died there, and that we will probably never be able to determine which of their daughters was not among the nine remains found in the pit. It is that uncertainty that makes the story so captivating and so enduring, for undoubtedly Massie will not have the last word. Turning to the reputed survivors, Massie breezes through the more farfetched claimants before considering the most famous Anastasia who appeared during the middle of the twentieth century. This part of the story features legal maneuvering in addition to another cast of scientific experts, yet the conclusion is more certain this time.
Massie's book taught me as much about the strategic deployment of scientific experts as it did about the Romanovs. It provides pause for other claims of scientific certainty about historical events, even as it portrays the drama that seemingly arcane chemical analysis can achieve. That is the story that I told my daughter, and now her desire to explore such historical curiosities is even stronger.
Book Review: Informative and thorough, but contentious
Summary: 4 Stars
This book has a lot going for it: the portrait of the Romanov family's last days is touching, and the account of their execution is factual and truly horrific. (As the author of "Nicholas and Alexandra," Massie clearly wears his heart on his sleeve, but the story is appalling enough on its own merits: Nicholas may have been arrogant, stubborn, and a political idiot, but his family certainly didn't deserve a brutal death.) The author's exposition of how the bones were found and identified is thorough and clear, if a bit dry, and his explanation of "Anna Anderson" and her history is authoritative and convincing. He's also very good at explaining how DNA typing works.On the other hand, when he describes the disputes over who was entitled to examine the bones and do the DNA work on them, the author becomes partisan. I felt that his attack on DNA expert Mary-Claire King was highly unfair: it's evident that she realized that the situation was t! urning into Dueling DNA Analysts and didn't want her employees wasting their time on it, so accusing her of failing to keep promises she never made is petty and mean-spirited. The author's spitefulness in this section mars what is otherwise a balanced, objective account of the discovery and identification of the bones. With this reservation, I'd recommend the book as a thorough and convincing description of how the Romanov bones were found and identified, and essential reading for anyone who is curious about the issues raised by their recent burial.
Book Review: A fascinating study
Summary: 4 Stars
Readers of some of Massie's other works, notably Peter the Great, and Nicholas and Alexandra may be slightly disappointed with this book in that it does not have that epic, novel-like quality as do his others. In fairness, though, this book is different from the earlier works as it is less a history of characters in a story than it is a documentary-like study focusing on a medico-legal investigation.
Unfortunately, in attempting this type of work, Massie occassionally becomes rather dry and tedious (faults which are refreshingly absent in his other, and longer, histories). I found this particularly true in the review of certain disagreements between scientists. Also, I think that Massie found it difficult to expand the story of the forensic investigation into enough material to fill the book and consequentially resorted to a bit of padding. The lengthy section dealing with the legal wrangling over Anna Anderson's tissue samples is a good example of this and I also noted that there are a few passages lifted wholesale from 'Nicholas and Alexandria'.
All in all though, this book is a great sequel to the more general history written almost 30 years earlier and the quibbles I have with it should not dissuade fans of Massie from buying this enjoyable and informative book.