Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K Massie

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie is a wonderful read. Not only the book is full of historical information, it is also a compassionate story about family, love and war.

Nicholas and Alexandra was published in 1967 during the Soviet era. In Russia at that time this type of material would be banned. Massie went through great trouble and painstaking research to write this book.

Through this book the reader learns a great deal of the imperial family's day to day life, their outings, friends and hobbies. We also see that this family is no different to the normal family you would normally meet. The reader learns about the main character, czar Nicholas II just an ordinary man, loves his family very much and perhaps he is not turning out to be a great ruler, but a loving father and husband.

Great Russian historical cities St Petersburg, Kiev, Moscow and interesting people like Gregory Rasputin, Czar Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexis, Empress Alexandra, Lenin, Yakov Yurovsky, all play major role in deciding the future of Russia. The reader gets to meet these people and visit places like the great hall of the Winter and Alexander palace. Come to grips of what the first World War was like and the effect it brought on the Royal family. While the war was raging across Europe the provisional government and the Bolsheviks were trying to abdicate the czar.

We learn about the czar's abdication and imprisonment and find out about the unhappy ending that awaited the Romanov's.

The book is written in great style and easy to read manner. You will not find many confusing dates and battle plans, but what you will find is a great story written with extensive research and passion. At first the book looks very thick with small writing and well over 600 pages. Don't be fooled by it because over 100 pages of the book is Massie's research notes. Overall the book is about 507 pages and a fast page turner.

I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot more about WWI from this book than I did from any other written on the subject. Massie got a unique way with words and knows how to keep the reader interested by combining history with a great story.
5 out of 5 stars