A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas & Alexandra - Andrei Maylunas, Sergei Mironenko

Advantages: Totally factual
Disadvantages: You already know the ending

...their goal was to produce a book that respected the memories of those involved while explaining the awful predicament they were placed in, then this achieves it and much, much more. Totally factual, fascinating, absorbing and sometimes shocking, we see the start of the great romance between Alexandra and Nicholas before their marriage. They corresponded daily and kept detailed diaries throughout their lives together which covered many events, both ...
...that he wouldn't die with a pinch of salt, believing them to be the fevered imaginings of of revolutionists, but I was wrong. And this book showed me how wrong I had been in my preconceptions about the time in history, the family, the revolutionists and their leaders. About Russia in general, really. The schools should find a way of introducing this book into the History lessons - there wouldn't be a better teacher. Detailed reviews are obviously ... Read review

Advantages: Informative,well laid out,a new angle on well-known events
Disadvantages: A huge book - takes a while to get through it.

...Bolsheviks. This impressive book puts a human face on these historical events.The book is a collection of private letters written by and to the Romanovs in the years leading up to the revolution.They chart the passionate love affair between the Tsar and his beautiful wife Alexandra,their devotion to their children,especially their sick son,Alexei,and their relationship with other family members,including Alix's grandmother,Queen Victoria.The chatty ...
...ultimate fate.Their brutal murders are documented at the end of the book by the callous testimonies of Bolshevik leaders.It makes you want to weep.You do not have to be a monarchist to come to the conclusion that,however corrupt the Tsarist regime was,the Family did not deserve so grisly a fate. ... Read review