The Last Days Of The Romanovs: Tragedy At Ekaterinburg (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Helen Rappaport's first book on the Romanov family is an intense yet bittersweet read. We all know how the story will end. The tragedy of the last Imperial Family of Russia is well known to nearly everyone; however, Ms. Rappaport manages to make the story personal. We meet the family and travel alongside them from Tobolsk to Ekaterinberg. We share the intimacy of their imprisonment as the restrictions on them increase until the last day. And yet for all that intensity... for all the knowledge that we know this story will end in tragedy... the story is immensely readable. Ms. Rappaport doesn't bog it down with technical details or too much Russian terminology. She keeps the friendly tone of her text regardless of how disturbing it is; it's almost like hearing the story told by a good friend who understands the best tone of voice to soften a tragic blow.Of the myriad of books on the Romanovs that I have read in my life. This one takes a place on my personal bookshelves as one to be referred to again and again. It shares space with the classics of Romanov history as it it more than justified at doing. This is a book that I highly recommend. I'm looking forward to seeing what Ms. Rappaport does in her study of the Grand Duchesses. $8.89"The world will never know what we did to them," claimed one of the Bolshevik assassins in regard to the Imperial Family, but this book definitely proves differently. The amount of research and attention to detail is mind boggling, and the author herself mentioned that she didn't know what else could be written. She found out when she went to Russia.This is about the last 14 days of the Romanov family, and although I have read about that before, there is a lot in here that I never knew, so much has been saved in one way or another that it defies belief, especially since the Bolsheviks wanted nothing more than to cover the whole thing up. Not only are we told about the last 14 days of the family, but about various things that were happening on the world stage. There are times when it got rather dry, and so this is not a book I would recommend if you are just starting out learning about the Romanov family but would like more detail. Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie is a fantastic biography, and even The Romanov Conspiracy (fiction) by Glenn Meade is a wonderful accompaniment to this book.Still when all was said and done, I just felt so sad, especially for the children, not to mention countless other Russian people whose lives were "liquefied" before they ever had a chance at life.
What do You think about The Last Days Of The Romanovs: Tragedy At Ekaterinburg (2009)?
A history book that has elements of a novel. The detail was extraordinary, masterfully written.
—pauidesu
I cannot wait to read this! I've always been so interested in the story of Anastasia.
—rudot12
very good book. Goes into detail about what happened to the Romanovs.
—Jade
Gripping narrative--I could not put this book down.
—kryan93
