DECEMBER 2011 - AudioFile
The title says it all about Massie's summary of the Romanov mystery. He covers every aspect—from the 1918 murder of the Russian royal family to the enigma of Grand Duchess Anastasia and her multiple imposters. It takes a special performer to keep the listener interested when the bulk of the story is made up of facts, multiple genealogies, and details of court proceedings; however, Geoffrey Howard fits that description very well. His deep, melodic voice and precise intonation keep one poised for the juicy tidbits of information hidden among the drier stuff. Howard also skillfully conveys Massie’s respect for each facet of this complex story. K.O. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
In death as in life, the last imperial Romanovs cause controversy. Their bones remain in the Ekaterinburg morgue because of disagreements within the Russian bureaucracy, within the Russian Orthodox Church at home and abroad and among the Romanov descendants over burial sites, canonization and whether to inter with the family their servants who were murdered with them. The squabbling is unseemly, as Massie (Nicholas and Alexandra) shows vividly in his discerning book based on interviews and a close reading of the literature of the revolution. He recreates the slaughter of Alexandra, Nicholas and their children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Alexis, family physician Eugene Botkin, valet Trupp, maid Anna Demidova and cook Kharitonov on the night of July 16-17, 1918, at the Ipatiev House in the Siberian city of Ekaterinburg. For some 60 years, the whereabouts of their bodies remained a mystery, until a retired Siberian geologist and a Moscow filmmaker found four skulls that they kept secret until 1989, when glasnost made revelation possible. Then began the exploitation, which, as Massie relates the story, will leave readers astonished and angry: scientists who identified the bones criticized one another's expertise for questionable motives, and the cities of Ekaterinburg and Petersburg are still quarreling over custody of the remains and the Romanov descendants over the manner of burial. Although the bones of two of the royals have not been found-Alexis, and either Marie or Anastasia-the evidence Massie presents discredits the ``survivors'' of the Ekaterinburg massacre, primarily Anna Anderson, who, until her death in 1984, claimed to be Anastasia. The average Russian, at least according to Massie, may be indifferent to the bones, but readers of his account most certainly will not be. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to the New Yorker; BOMC featured selection. (Oct.)
Library Journal
The fall of Soviet communism has sparked a renewed interest in detailing the real history of Russia. Recently opened archives and the decreasing likelihood of personal punishment have allowed historians unparalleled access to information hidden since World War I. Steinberg (history, Yale) and Khrustalev, a Russian historian-archivist, recount the arrest and life under guard of the Romanovs, with reproductions of many letters between Nicholas and Alexandra and documents of primary research. This work is scholarly, well written, and suitable for academic and public libraries. Pulitzer Prize winner Massie (Peter the Great, LJ 9/15/80) takes up where Steinberg leaves off. Massie's work chronicles the events from the death of the Romanovs at the hands of the Bolsheviks until the discovery and recent identification of their remains. Massie does a good job of exposing Romanov imposters, including Anna Anderson, but DNA research does not lend itself to readableness. The short chapters make the book more accessible, but this work does not compare favorably with the best of Massie's works. Together, these books bring to completion the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra. Communist revisionism has been replaced by academic research. [Massie's book was previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/95.]Harry Willems, Kansas Lib. System, Iola
