I am in awe of Erickson as a biographer and as an historian. Most biographers and historians like to speculate, or are very dry, or jump around too much. Erickson is very disciplined. Everything she writes is pure substantiated fact, not a bit of it is fictionalized or embellished. At the same time, she is able to write about these facts in a way that draws the reader in like a novel would. And she does it all in a perfectly linear fashion, never using phrases like "if only she knew what was to come," or "and ten years later this was shown to be a bad decision." Every moment is written as the subjects were experiencing it at the time, with all of the anticipation that comes with it. I found myself wondering if someone really would come and rescue the imperial family, even though I knew in advance they'd been martyred.
Like many, I've always been fascinated by the life of the last tsar of Russia and his doomed family, a fascination that was largely kindled when their graves were located in the 90's. Our school systems teach us very little about world history. All I really knew about this story was that the family had been martyred for some reason or other, that two of the bodies were never found, and that some shady figure called Rasputin was wrapped up in it all.
The most interesting revelations in my view are the circumstances that lead Russia into communism and the Romanovs into extinction. It's very true that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and it was far too easy to see similarities between the troubled pre-revolutionary Russia and the current status of the USA. It was also interesting to learn more about Rasputin, who was not at all the sort of person I expected.
I highly recommend this book and others by this writer.
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
This sounds really great. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteToday is a very big day in the Where’s Wenda? Contest. I am visiting all of the SITS followers. Can I do it? There are around 1000 followers. Oh my! Better grab my cup of coffee and get on my way. Be sure to visit Hot Chocolate Caramel Mocha and Three Bay B Chicks as part of your contest entry. -Wenda
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you enjoyed the book. I've never read this one of hers, so I will have to check it out of the library!
ReplyDeleteOh, this DOES sound good. I'm going to have to check her out. I love reading about history, and this is something that has fascinated me, but I never studied in school. When I was in middle school they had a "Treasures of the Czars" exhibit in Kansas, and I went a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me - I wanted to read this when it came out, and then lost touch with that thought.
ReplyDelete