This is an all-encompassing authoritative biography of the last ruling Romanovs, and Massie has compiled a thorough and well-researched insight into the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra. Even forty years after its original publication and long after the fall of the Soviet Union, it is a relevant part of Russian history. Massie is very sympathetic in his presentation of the royal family and addresses pertinent questions about the fall of the monarchy. If Alexis, the heir to the throne, had not had hemophilia, would the influence of Rasputin not have been necessary? And if Rasputin were never in the picture, would the monarchy have suffered such a tarnished reputation?

The book painted a very vivid picture of the Royal Family based on hundreds of sources and letters. Nicholas is an incapable Tsar but a warm-hearted, devoted husband and father. Alexandra seems frantic and ill at ease (and often just ill) in her constant concern over the life of her son. And I love that I felt I got to know each of the children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and Alexis more individually and personally. This made their demise all the more heartbreaking. This book also gave me a greater understanding of the political climate of the time in Russia and a better comprehension of the revolution and the roles of Lenin, Trotsky, and other important players (although I occasionally found some difficulty keeping the various Russian names straight). Overall, this is a captivating book and the saga is all the more intriguing because it's history. I will definitely be interested to read some of the more recent material that Massie presents in The Romanovs: The Last Chapter.

I first read Nicholas and Alexandra many years ago as a 14 year old. It was a transformative experience for me, awakening what has been a lifelong passionate interest in royal biography and Russian history. Now that I'm in my early fifties, I recently reread Nicholas and Alexandra for the first time in about twenty years, and it continues to have the same magic.

Robert K. Massie became interested in the last Tsar of Russia because he, like Nicholas, was the father of a hemophiliac boy. Massie spent long hours reading about hemophilia and famous hemophiliacs, and he was fascinated by the way Russian and world twentieth century history turned on a chance genetic defect. Had Tsarevich Alexis not had hemophilia, it is probable that Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra would not have come under the malign influence of Gregory Rasputin, the Siberian faith healer who had a catastrophic effect on the Russian government before and during World War I; leading to the Russian Revolution, the rise of Communism, and the deaths of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children. Its an interesting thesis that still holds up well, though Massie's focus on the inner tragedy of the Tsar's family tends to make him discount the many other problems from which pre-revolutionary Russia suffered. Massie also has a natural tendency to whitewash Nicholas and Alexandra (parents of hemophiliacs have a special bond with those who share their trauma, after all), by barely mentioning such negative traits as the Tsar's anti-Semitism and the Empress' many neuroses.

The book remains an extraordinary work of art. Massie's descriptions of the Russian landscape and his finely drawn character sketches are wonderfully rich and detailed. He is able to explain the political and social complexities of the era colorfully and wittily, even when dealing with such abstractions as the differences between Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries, and Bolsheviks. Most of all, Massie is able to make us weep for the Romanovs: a man who was a bad Tsar but a good husband and father, a woman who destroyed her family while trying to keep her son alive, and five innocent young people who never had a chance to lead happy, productive lives. Every time I read Nicholas and Alexandra I tremble again at the thought of their last awful moments, but I am enriched still more by the chance to read such a magnificent work of art and scholarship.

In 2000, there was much talk about the "most important person of the 20th Century." My choice was always Gavrilo Princip, the young Bosnian assassin who killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, igniting World War I, which caused the Russian Revolution, Communism, and the Treaty of Versailles, which led to Naziism, World War II, atomic bombs, and the Cold War.

Of course, there were other factors which formed the tragedy of the twentieth century, and perhaps some of these historical events would have happened anyway. Almost for certain, the Romanov Monarchy would have fallen or been transformed out of recognition without the help of Gavrilo Princip's bullets.

Although the Ottoman Empire was always referred to as "the sick man of Europe," Robert K. Massie illustrates that Russia was not very well either, despite appearances. An obsolescent autocracy, the Russian Empire was mired in time at the dawn of the twentieth century, the great mass of its people existing much as they had 100 years earlier.

Massie's theory, that the hemophilia of Alexis, the young Tsarevich, had an inordinate influence of Russian and subsequent world history, is well thought-out, though perhaps an oversimplification. Yet, it cannot be discounted. The Romanov Dynasty had ruled Russia then for 300 years, and brought the country, by fits and starts, slowly into the orbit of the modern world. Despite this, there is much truth in the observation that "Lenin inherited a nation playing beside a manure pile and Stalin bequeathed a nation playing with an atomic pile." This is not to defend Stalinism, but only to say how little the Romanovs did overall to modernize their State.

When Nicholas II inherited the throne after his father's untimely death, he was woefully unprepared to rule. Dominated for years by archconservative and anti-modernist members of his family, he did little to educate his people, provide health care, build infrastructure, or lift the heavy cloak of official repression that lay over all but ethnic Russians in his realm, or the cloak of cultural repression that lay over the ethnic Russians.

Yet Massie shows us a man and a family of uncommonly kind nature in Nicholas II and his family. His daughter Olga paid personally for the care of a handicapped subject she spied from her carriage one day. The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, despite a reputation as an uncaring woman, herself nursed sick friends before the war and horribly wounded soldiers during the war. The family built hospitals and schools in and around the various cities wherein lay the royal estates. They acted to ameliorate suffering wherever they saw it, without reservation.

Of course, this was the problem. They acted only on what they saw with their own eyes, never recognizing that these sufferings were endemic throughout the realm. Their myopia was part and parcel of the lives of the citified upper classes, completely divorced from the mass of agrarian peasants in the countryside, magnified by the hermetically sealed nature of being an Imperial Family, aided and abetted by sycophants and the self-serving, who kept the real world at a very long arm's length, in order to maintain their own privileged positions. Living in a bubble within a bubble, they were just not aware of conditions in most of Russia.

Nicholas II ruled over the largest domain on earth. Russia today is still the world's largest nation, even shorn of Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, the Ukraine, the Central Asian provinces, and (in 1867) Alaska. Sunset in Vladivostok was dawn in Brest-Litovsk. His hundred million subjects included hundreds of peoples speaking hundreds of languages, linked together by a shockingly small road and rail system. The sensitive Nicholas, had he been really cognizant of the shape of things, could have, by a single order, vastly improved the lives of each and every Russian (of course, as he noted, being an autocrat and giving orders does not ensure that they are carried out properly). His greatest failings, as a ruler, all had to do with his decisions to outwardly maintain his Imperial hautre and his autocracy at all costs in the face of cataclysmic change.

This bubble-within-a-bubble existence however, could not spare them from the fact of the Tsarevich's hemophilia. A genetic disorder inherited through the female line (Alexis' Great-Grandmother was Queen Victoria, whose progeny were ravaged by the disease), it prevents the clotting of the blood. When Alexis was born in 1904, the world was a full lifespan away from the development of a usable clotting factor; most hemophiliacs simply bled out and died. The Tsarevich was protected by a full retinue, but this did not help him, and the boy was often in screaming agony and close to death from what might in another child, be a bad bruise. The Heir, therefore lived in a bubble within a bubble within a bubble.

The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, was a solemn, shy, but deeply emotional and loving woman, nicknamed "Sunny" by her husband. To the world, she presented an aloof exterior, and was extremely unpopular with her subjects. Had they known the sorrows and agonies she suffered through with Alexis, her realm, and history, might have treated her far better. But the Imperial Family decided to keep Alexis' condition a closely guarded secret, fearing the destabilization of the Monarchy and Russia in the face of a physically frail Heir. This may have been the Imperial Family's worst error, as it robbed them of an outpouring of sympathy and support from a passionate populace.

Alexandra turned to religion, and ultimately, to Gregory Rasputin, a filthy, degenerate, sexually perverse and personally dissolute monk of peasant extraction. Although derided by most, and called a charlatan by many, Rasputin was perhaps one of the most charismatic men in history, had a devoted following (largely comprised of Society women he'd seduced), did have the power, somehow, to control Alexis' bleeding episodes, and therefore, had the Empress's full and unwavering support in all things.

The feared and hated Rasputin may have indeed been a seer or had mystical powers of some sort, judging from circumstances. Rasputin was not really political, but as his influence over the Romanovs grew, his power expanded commensurately, and he was able to have Ministers dismissed, Generals reassigned to sinecures, and policies changed according to his own whims (expressed as messages from God) or concerns. Capable Russian leaders, who did not know the basis of Rasputin's power, suspected the worst of Alexandra, and in challenging Rasputin found themselves toppled from power. As World War I dawned, Russia was upside-down, its best men in internal exile, and woefully unprepared for war. Rasputin himself counseled against war, stating that Russia would collapse from within. Nonetheless, the British, German and Russian grandsons of Queen Victoria went to war.In that war, millions died, empires fell, nations were born, ideological political systems triumphed, and the stage was set for a darker and yet bloodier future.

The Tsar and his genteel family were consumed, ending their days against a wall before a Bolshevik firing squad, probably not understanding, until the end, that they had been in the eye of a hurricane that remade the world.

nicholas and alexandra should never had become czar and crazina of russia.nicholas was just to weak spirit and alexandra to strong without know the real russia people.she saw russian as childern who needed to be told how to run their lives by the papa czar.she hide her son illness and brought in a sexual twisted man of god into her family,ruin the romanov's relationship with it's people.stopping changes that would give citzen russian say in their country.in the end the people turn on the romanov's every thing end tragical.

I read this book many years ago and have never forgotten it, and I just recently purchased a copy of my own. Robert Massie is an excellent writer who makes this book memorable for the fun and loving family that the Romanovs were and their terrible, tragic end. I'm now collecting more books on the Romanov dynasty and the individual people who made up this fascinating family. For anyone with an interest, this is the place to start.

Far and away one of the best biographies I have ever read. Massie masterfully gives life to the doomed, tragic last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family. I was absolutely rivetted from page one by this outstanding work. The book gives a sympathetic portrait of Tsar Nicholas, his wife Empress Alexandra, and their ongoing struggle to cope with their haemophiliac son, Alexei, heir to the Russian throne. Alexei's illness indirectly leads to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and the family's murder. An astonishingly good read, and one I highly recommend to all who are interested in this era of history.

Robert Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" is a biographical study centered on the lives of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. Massie's portrayal of the last ruling Romanavs is like many other works on the subject in that it is poignant, dramatic, and vibrant; but never dull. However, Massie's work stands out above other works on the subject for its thorough account of the lives of the imperial couple and most of all, its sympathetic portrayal of them.

Nearly all works of the period agree that Tsar Nicholas II was not the blood-drenched despot the Bolshevik revolutionaries claimed him to be, and although he may not have been as benevolent as his contemporary Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, he at least lacked the bellicose nature of his German counterpart (and early advisor), Wilhelm II. Massie's account demonstrates how Nicholas II was ill-prepared to ascend the throne in after Alexander III, but unlike the contention of other historians, Massie makes a reasonable case in defending the intelligence of the fallen autocrat.

Massie's account of Nicholas and Alexandra does not absolve the couple from their failure to prevent the collapse of the reign and ultimately their country, but it does partially excuse their inflexibility and fatalism on the serious of misfortunes that continued to plague Nicholas from the very day of his coronation; when hundred of Russian peasants were stampeded to death in a overzealous crowd on Khodynka Meadow. Yet, no Romanov apologist can ignore the detrimental influences on Nicholas's reign, including his wife Alexandra, a German Kaiser, and especially a corrupt starets. That such an array of persons from various strata of society could at times impose their will on a man raised to be an autocrat was a tarnish on Nicholas' character.

Despite his habit of being easily swayed at times, Nicholas is not one-dimensional in Massie's account. It is noted how Nicholas ignored the advice of able ministers and most of all; remained unyielding to grant the masses of his subjects the representation and constitution they desired--until it was too late. Even Massie can be counted among the historians who muse whether the Romanov dynasty might have survived had the Tsar been more accommadating to the popular demands of his people--or if war had not erupted in the manner it did in 1914.

Although Massie's work is very thorough, it only briefly touches the clandestine operations of the Tsarist police state in rooting out revolutionaries and assassins from its masses prior to 1917. Indeed, other works (e.g. Edmond Taylor's "The Fall of the Dynasties") are careful to point out that Tsarist police included a host of known double agents whose loyalties were perpetually in doubt. While Massie makes note of that insecurity in his account of Prime Minister Peter Stolypin's assassination in 1911 by a Tsarist agent, he fails to explain how widespread the problem actually was. Indeed, Taylor describes as monarchy's slide to collapse as a "suicide", not because they were unable to stop that slide, but rather because they were unwilling.

Just as it is difficult to excuse the corrupt system of Tsarist counter-revolutionary activity, historians are also unable to justify the Russia's policy in WWI of placing the needs of France above that of her own. The disaster at Tannenburg early in the war is described in detail by Massie, and is correctly portrayed as a premature offensive launched by Russia (with the support of Nicholas) to rescue its beleagured ally from the German onslaught through northern France. Indeed, even after his abdication and arrest, Massie notes how Nicholas pleaded with Kerensky to continue to support the Russia's allies in the war effort--a mission with which the Provisional Government leader would complete in the summer of 1917 with disastrous consequences. Although Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" does not outright label the monarchy as a principle agent of its own destruction, his book nevertheless provides a strong case to the conclusion that the last rulers (and their ministers) of the Romanov dynasty practiced an inexplicable policy of self-immolation.

It is perhaps this mystery--or lunacy--of the Romanovs that continues to fascinate so many readers 90 years after their unglorious deaths in their Siberian imprisonment. Undoubtedly, the story of the last Romanovs will continue to perplex students of history for decades to come, and Robert Massie's work will will remain the foremost account of the twilight of Imperial Russia.

Massie has written a masterpiece.
Graceful, informative ,never boring.
One of the best introductions into the insanity
of the Red Revolution and the rise of communism.

This is not a "history book" so if you're seeking a remedy for insomnia, try somewhere else. You won't find dry, soulless lists of dates and facts or be patronized with tedious analyses of cause and effect. Nor will you be handed summary value judgments regarding each individual's contribution to history.

You will instead be taken into the confidence of the Romanovs and hear their story as it would be told by a dear friend of the family. Massie, himself the father of a hemophiliac, writes with a touching sympathy toward Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, and their son, Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia all of his tragically short life. Ample quotations from personal letters and diaries portray each character with the sort of intimacy and detail one expects in a well-written, character-driven novel.

The book is paced in a manor that keeps the interest of the reader. Dramatic events like the beer riot at Nicholas's coronation or the assassination of Rasputin are described in clear, stark detail that makes them memorable enough to be retold by the reader. Historical events tangential to the Romanov story, like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, are told quickly but thoroughly. The story is kept firmly in historical context without being drowned out by historical events.

Massie shows a movie director's ability to choose vivid, emotional images. I can almost see the hazy, orange cast to the scenes of little Alexis in his soldier's uniform charming all of the officers into joining in his games. I can imagine Alexandra reaching a pale, thin hand out of a train window. She accepts a proffered cornflower from one of her captors as the train begins to move, taking the disgraced family to Siberia. My mental movie screen fades to black before showing the bleak, dilapidated house that would be the family's prison.

The beauty of this book, however, is its unique presentation of the people involved. Nicholas and Alexandra come to life as undeniably good, and yet tragically flawed, human beings. More surprisingly, their family and its difficulties are entirely relatable. Nicholas's struggle to choose between his own judgment, his uncles' advice, his Mother's urgings, and his wife's effusively expressed opinions makes him a sympathetic "everyman" despite his wealth and power. And no author could create a character more colorful than Alexandra. Her blind acceptance of Rasputin's self-described holiness and her incessant meddling in politics make her an unwitting villain in the story. However, one can only admire her sincere faith and devotion to country and family. Unwilling to sit in luxury while Russia was at war, she and her daughters became nurses, braving the filth and stench to help the wounded men. The reader cannot help but sympathize with her, despite feeling a measure of contempt at her naiveté.

The main antagonist of the story is the infamous Rasputin. As I read about this rough, unwashed peasant and his rise to power, I frequently checked the spine of the book to verify that I was indeed reading a work of "nonfiction". Everything about the man, from his mysteriously hypnotic gaze to his inexplicable power over the Empress, belongs in the realm of fantasy fiction. His ability to ease the suffering of little Alexis can be explained by hypnotism, a psychological phenomenon that is much more understood today than it was when the book was written. However, the spell he cast over Alexandra and many of the other nobles defies reason. The passages about Rasputin, all rigorously documented, add a touch of surrealism to this drama that will fascinate those of us who delight in the unexplained.

The chief weakness of this work is its all-too-brief treatment of Lenin, the ultimate nemesis of Tsarism and of the Romanov family. It can certainly be argued that the life of Lenin belongs in a different book. However, Massie's brief passages about Lenin were so well written and intriguing that I wished there were more. If Rasputin is a fairy-tale black mage, Lenin is a comic book supervillian- brilliant, ruthless, and bitter. Moreover, Nicholas and Lenin provide for the perfect juxtaposition. It is quite easy to feel affection for the Tsar who loved his country more than his crown and his family more still. At the same time, Nicholas's neurotic unwillingness to assert himself and spectacularly poor judgment make him an object of pity. Lenin, in contrast, is cold and clever. One cannot help but admire his Machiavellian machinations while detesting him personally.

This entirely true story is more entertaining than many works of historical fiction. Whether you are a fan of drama, intrigue, war, fantasy, history, or romance, you will find something to keep you turning the pages. It is unusual to find a book that could be recommended to so broad an audience.

This is not a "history book" so if you're seeking a remedy for insomnia, try somewhere else. You won't find dry, soulless lists of dates and facts or be patronized with tedious analyses of cause and effect. Nor will you be handed summary value judgments regarding each individual's contribution to history.

You will instead be taken into the confidence of the Romanovs and hear their story as it would be told by a dear friend of the family. Massie, himself the father of a hemophiliac, writes with a touching sympathy toward Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, and their son, Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia all of his tragically short life. Ample quotations from personal letters and diaries portray each character with the sort of intimacy and detail one expects in a well-written, character-driven novel.

The book is paced in a manor that keeps the interest of the reader. Dramatic events like the beer riot at Nicholas's coronation or the assassination of Rasputin are described in clear, stark detail that makes them memorable enough to be retold by the reader. Historical events tangential to the Romanov story, like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, are told quickly but thoroughly. The story is kept firmly in historical context without being drowned out by historical events.

Massie shows a movie director's ability to choose vivid, emotional images. I can almost see the hazy, orange cast to the scenes of little Alexis in his soldier's uniform charming all of the officers into joining in his games. I can imagine Alexandra reaching a pale, thin hand out of a train window. She accepts a proffered cornflower from one of her captors as the train begins to move, taking the disgraced family to Siberia. My mental movie screen fades to black before showing the bleak, dilapidated house that would be the family's prison.

The beauty of this book, however, is its unique presentation of the people involved. Nicholas and Alexandra come to life as undeniably good, and yet tragically flawed, human beings. More surprisingly, their family and its difficulties are entirely relatable. Nicholas's struggle to choose between his own judgment, his uncles' advice, his Mother's urgings, and his wife's effusively expressed opinions makes him a sympathetic "everyman" despite his wealth and power. And no author could create a character more colorful than Alexandra. Her blind acceptance of Rasputin's self-described holiness and her incessant meddling in politics make her an unwitting villain in the story. However, one can only admire her sincere faith and devotion to country and family. Unwilling to sit in luxury while Russia was at war, she and her daughters became nurses, braving the filth and stench to help the wounded men. The reader cannot help but sympathize with her, despite feeling a measure of contempt at her naiveté.

The main antagonist of the story is the infamous Rasputin. As I read about this rough, unwashed peasant and his rise to power, I frequently checked the spine of the book to verify that I was indeed reading a work of "nonfiction". Everything about the man, from his mysteriously hypnotic gaze to his inexplicable power over the Empress, belongs in the realm of fantasy fiction. His ability to ease the suffering of little Alexis can be explained by hypnotism, a psychological phenomenon that is much more understood today than it was when the book was written. However, the spell he cast over Alexandra and many of the other nobles defies reason. The passages about Rasputin, all rigorously documented, add a touch of surrealism to this drama that will fascinate those of us who delight in the unexplained.

The chief weakness of this work is its all-too-brief treatment of Lenin, the ultimate nemesis of Tsarism and of the Romanov family. It can certainly be argued that the life of Lenin belongs in a different book. However, Massie's brief passages about Lenin were so well written and intriguing that I wished there were more. If Rasputin is a fairy-tale black mage, Lenin is a comic book supervillian- brilliant, ruthless, and bitter. Moreover, Nicholas and Lenin provide for the perfect juxtaposition. It is quite easy to feel affection for the Tsar who loved his country more than his crown and his family more still. At the same time, Nicholas's neurotic unwillingness to assert himself and spectacularly poor judgment make him an object of pity. Lenin, in contrast, is cold and clever. One cannot help but admire his Machiavellian machinations while detesting him personally.

This entirely true story is more entertaining than many works of historical fiction. Whether you are a fan of drama, intrigue, war, fantasy, history, or romance, you will find something to keep you turning the pages. It is unusual to find a book that could be recommended to so broad an audience.

Massie's biography of Tsar Nicholas ,wife Alexandra was an engrossing read.


Opulence.pomp,paegentry of Romanovs andRussian aristocracy undoubtedly stunning,spectacular.


Author has been able to narrate this brilliantly.Being frippery,snobbish,ruling class had no inhibition in exhibiting their wealth.However their hedonism aroused the ire of masses who lived in abject poverty.Consequently, plebeians succumbed to the charm of Communism.

Nicholas proved incapable of reversing changes which was about to engulf his vast empire.By sharing power with the masses, author says, Tsar could have stopped revolution on its tracks.However this entails dilution of his authority.Tsar doggedly resisted change.But you cannot expect people wielding absolute power to relinquish authority voluntarily.

This is law of nature.Nicholas case, circumstances of life corrupted him.He came under the baneful influence of Siberian mystic Rasputin. Despite this drawback Russia's last Tsar was good-humored,decent, mild-mannered.He was loyal,affectionate toward his family.He lavished care and attention to his only son ,young Tsarevich,a haemophiliac.
Last days of Romanov family spent under terrible agony particularly so for Tsarina.Constantly harassed,intimidated by the Bolsheviks ,with all hopes of escape from Russia failing ,it must have been an intensely frustrating and painful life.

Why was destiny so cruel to the last of Romanovs?This will always remain a mystery.
Family perished in the hands of Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg. What a gruesome end. For a long time ,Bolsheviks concealed this crime. Finally, Boris Yeltsin had the courage to acknowledge Soviet Union's guilt.I got the impression what happened in Russia[revolution,violence which succeded] stemmed from the disease of young Tsarevich.Had he been healthy, there would have been no Rasputin and revolution.

Profiles of people like Kerensky , Rasputin , Lenin were interesting.Also the section on Russo- Japanese war.Curious to know more about Siberian mystic Rasputin . From where did he acquire supernatural powers? Did he go Himalayas or Tibet where we still have sages possessing mystical powers.unfortunately author does not satisfactorily address this point.

This book a must reading for history buffs.

I loved this book. It was well-written, interesting, and a real page-turner. I have recommended it to many of my friends. I didn't know I could be so interested in Russian history. This book has it all, intrigue, love, tragedy. I enjoyed it immensely.

I have read this book many times and love it more every time I read it. Massie captures the times of Nicholas and Alexandra wonderfully. Massie captures Nicholas's and Alexandra's personalities and temperments wonderfully. Nicholas did not have the capability to rule over Russia and made huge mistakes. It did not help that some of these bad descisions were egged on by Alexandra. You feel Alexandra's grief over Alexei's hemophilia. She mourned it even more because this was their only son and heir. This was kept secret from the Russian people and most of the court and was disasterous. Massie gives a sympathetic light to the last tsar and tsarina, but doesn't leave out what went wrong.

That this book, over 35 years old, continues to be read is a tribute to its writer. The book is still read for a reason - its excellence. It had been on my "to read list" for years, and a long trip with several layovers finally prompted me to do it. It was stunning and long flights the layovers passed quickly.

Despite the lack of access to materials, people and places inside the then USSR, Massie unearths significant original sources. His tremendous writing skills weave all this detail into the narrative... and what a sweeping narrative it is!

Massie shows how the personalities of the Emperor and Empress and how their only son's fate as a hemophilic set the stage for not only their personal tragedy, but the tragedy of the Russian nation. Massie writes in a way that makes you care.

This book was an enormous undertaking, and a labor of love. Massie says in the introduction that his also having a hemophilic son spurred this interest in the Tzar and Tzarina, caring for and protecting their son as best they knew how. Unfortunately for them, their protectiveness of the heir and the autocracy they felt he should have, blinded them.

It was Alexander II's theory that for the monarchy to be preserved, it had to share it's power. Unfortunately his son, Alexander III, who succeeded him, felt that his father's reforms led to his ultimate assassination. Alexander III's death left his son with an extreme autocratic model of government which Nicholas II felt he had to preserve for his own son. Massie demonstrates how the personality of Nicholas, and its synergy with the reserve and monarchial dedication of Alexandra prevented any consideration of change and resulted in the ultimate end of the monarchy.

This book, over 35 years old, is a tribute to its writer. The book continues to be read for a reason - its excellence.

Despite the lack of access to materials, people and places inside the then USSR, Massie unearths significant original sources. His tremendous writing skills weave all this detail into the narrative... and what a sweeping narrative it is!

Massie shows how the personalities of the Emperor and Empress and how their only son's fate as a hemophilic set the stage for not only their personal tragedy, but the tragedy of the Russian nation. Massie writes in a way that makes you care.

This book was an enormous undertaking, and a labor of love. Massie says in the introduction that his also having a hemophilic son spurred this interest in the Tzar and Tzarina, caring for and protecting their son as best they knew how. Unfortunately for them, their protectiveness of the heir and the autocracy they felt he should have, blinded them.

It was Alexander II's theory that for the monarchy to be preserved, it had to share it's power. Unfortunately his son, Alexander III, who succeeded him felt that Allexander II's reforms led to his ultimate assassination. Had it been the grandfather, not the father, who influenced Nicholas II things might have been different.

I was sorry when I reached the book's last page since I couldn't get enough of Massie's narrative of the lives of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his soulmate Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children. Martyrs, royals, intellectuals and, above all, simple human beings who passionately loved life, I was amazed and motivated by their tale.

I was sorry when I reached the book's last page since I couldn't get enough of Massie's narrative of the lives of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his soulmate Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children. Martyrs, royals, intellectuals and, above all, simple human beings who passionately loved life, I was amazed and motivated by their tale.

This is an extremely well written book, as has been said before almost reads like a novel. Includes qoutes and perspectives of those that spent time with the the royal family. For anyone interested in Russian History, The Romanovs, First World War or the rise of communism this is a must read.

This is an extremely well written book, as has been said before almost reads like a novel. Includes qoutes and perspectives of those that spent time with the the royal family. For anyone interested in Russian History, The Romanovs, First World War or the rise of communism this is a must read.

Robert Massey is a great write. I've always enjoyed his books.

In print and widely available for nearly half-a-century now, few works of non-fiction have proven as enduring and captivating as Robert Massie's historical love story about the demise of the Romanov dynasty.

Massie is one of the most gifted popular historians of our age. He is one of a handful of authors who can write 500+ page history books on relatively obscure topics -- Peter the Great, the British/German naval race of 1890-1914, etc. -- that one would readily recommend to everyday neighbors or co-workers.

Massie wrote this book for a very special reason -- he is the father of a hemophiliac son. It is no wonder that Massie's descriptions of Tsarevich Alexis' excruciating episodes of daylong bleeds into his joints are so vividly conveyed and heart wrenching. Indeed, in many ways Massie "was there" and knows from personal experience the mental, emotional and physical anguish of hearing a beloved child cry out in pain to his utterly helpless parents.

The story that Massie tells is simple and straightforward - likely too simple and straightforward for serious students of the Russian Revolution. He argues that it was Alexis' hemophilia that led Tsarina Alexandra to embrace Rasputin as a true man of God and the only one capable of saving her son and thus saving the Romanov dynasty in Russia. His ability to ease Alexis' pain and bleeding - even today defying thoroughly convincing medical explanations - blinded Alexendra to reports of Rasputin's debauchery and the harm her relationship to him was doing to the image of the Imperial family and government. And it was Rasputin - who Massie grandiosely calls "one of the most extraordinary and enigmatic men to appear on earth" - that opened the door to Lenin and the collapse of autocracy in Russia. The Tsarina and the Siberian Man of God thus dominate Massie's story.

German by birth and a reluctant Lutheran convert to Orthodoxy, Alexandra ultimately embraced both her adopted country and religion with the passion and fervor of the convert. She dominated her marriage with the amiable and hardly autocratic autocrat Tsar Nicholas II, who was married to Alexandra and suddenly thrust upon the Russian thrown in 1894 at the tender age of 26. Massie describes the Tsarina as an extremely able and willful woman who was never fully accepted nor even liked by the Russian people or the Russian court.

Massie describes a few events as critical to the fall of the House of Romanov. First, obviously, was the birth of the Romanov's fifth child and only boy, Alexis, and learning that he suffered from hemophilia, a fact that the family kept a closely guarded secret his whole life. Second, Rasputin made a dramatic and seemingly miraculous appearance at Alexis' bedside after a nasty fall and internal bleed in Spala in 1912, which Massie says convinced Alexandra that the monk was a legitimate Man of God endowed with supernatural powers (acts followed up by similar performances with Alexis in 1915 and with court confidant Anna Vyrobova after a train accident in 1916). Third, Massie puts great emphasis on the Tsar's 1915 decision to relieve his uncle Grand Duke Nicholas as commander in chief of the army and to take personal command of the army at the front while leaving Alexandra to manage affairs in Petrograd in his absence. For the first time, Alexandra took a genuine leadership role in affairs of state and relied extensively - Massie almost argues exclusively - on the opinions and recommendations of Rasputin in picking cabinet members. Massie claims that Rasputin's influence reached its meridian with the appointment of Sturmer as prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and Protopopov as minister of the interior, positions they owed exclusively to being favorably disposed to Rasputin. Henceforth, the fractious Duma was united in just one cause - opposition to the Imperial government.

Massie describes Alexandra as thoroughly hated by the Russian population by 1916. She was thought to be a spy because of her German heritage and most were convinced that her relationship with Rasputin was sexual in nature. Massie also insists that Rasputin had no interest in power himself. He was more mystic consigliere to the Empress than eminese grise of the Imperial government, he argues. Massie writes that Rasputin wanted nothing more than to be left alone to indulge in his concupiscent lifestyle in an uninhibited manner - a lifestyle that was the talk of Petrograd by the time he was murdered in late 1916 (technically poisoned, shot, beaten and drowned) by Prince Youssopov, a member of the royal family and the wealthiest heir in all of Russia. Indeed, this story has more twists and turns that most novels.

If you are not the type to usually go for history books, give this one a try. You almost certainly will not be disappointed and will see that history - well written and enjoyably told - is every bit as enjoyable as non-fiction.

"Nicholas and Alexandra" was written by Robert K. Massie several decades ago. However, it has remained one of the best biographies on this doomed couple. It is the book that has gotten hundreds of people interested in the last Tsar and Tsaritsa of Russia. If you are just starting to learn about the Romanovs, this is the book for you.

Like a number of other reviewers, this is one that I set down and read about every three or four years. It is that delightful! I normally like my history a little more "hard core" but this work is an exception. It reads more like a novel than most biographies, yet is simply loaded with facts concerning the last Russian Tsar and his family. The book was of course written several years ago and new facts concerning this royal family and their country during this time period have come to light since that time. This is not a distraction in the least. A good story, well told, is still a good story and the author did quite well with in information available to him at that time. This work did, like other reviewers, strick a spark and intrest in Russian history that has lead to much good reading since I first read it. For that I am grateful. Highly recommend this to any one who is not only interested in history, but for anyone interested in just a good human story.

Massie's book is an unbelievable resource for anyone conducting research on the Romanov family. The book also provides an excellent picture of the forces at work behind the collapse of the autocracy, world war I and the rise of Bolshevism. It's also an interesting love story told through the letters of the Tsar and Tsarina. Regardless of why you may find yourself reading it, I highly recommend it.

This is a great book on the Romanovs. It details their life together from their courtship all the way to the end. It is the definitive book on them and very informative, but I found it a little dry. I struggled to get through the sometimes boring text, but I was glad I did. If you are interested in the Romanovs or a long time fan, this is a good book.

Rasputin was not a monster.
He was a cool cat with an even cooler beard.
He was a holy man and healer.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

This is the best Romanov book ever! Its full of information. It starts when Nicholas and Alexandra are children to their tragic death with their five children and their servants and the doctor. Its also full of great pictures of the Imperial family! I recommend it very much! READ IT !!!

The thing that kept me awake nights while reading this book years ago were the vivid and terrifying descriptions of Rasputin. Massie paints him as a hypnotic, evil, controlling mystic who drives a gigantic wedge between Nicholas and his wife.

And the scene where Rasputin is killed - only goes further to add to the myth of his super-human capabilities. Rasputin scared me to death and I still shudder when I think of him now. He is not a major part of the story - but he's in it and can't be ignored.

Massie, per usual, writes a masterpiece that is extremely well researched and communicated in a way that makes it impossible to just read a chapter. This is a great supplemental book to use with kids in the classroom or for those teaching IB courses/Extended Essays.

Wonderful book. This book gives quite an exhaustive account of events and personalities in Russia in period of Nicholas II. I am Russian myself, and absolutely everything that I knew about this epoch and the Royal family is summarized in the book. Given that it was written before I was born, I could not get rid of the impression that parts of the history books that I learned from were compiled from this work by Robert Massie.

The accessment of these events during the Soviet time, when the book was written, and nowadays are quite different, and I cannot stop admiring the discrete attitude of Massie and his unbiased evaluations of the personalities.

Reads easily as a novel. While it is a great advantage, this is also the only bit of criticism that I can add. The book about Peter the Great is harder to straggle through, but it gives a better account of the historical period in general, whereas "Nicholas and Alexandra", in order to preserve coherence and story line, concentrates on events in Russia only, assuming reader's familiarity with events and personalities abroad, as well as in previous periods of Russian history.
Still, wonderful read.

After a recent visit to St. Petersburg, I became interested in learning more about the end of the Romanov dynasty and picked up this book on my return. I found it to be not only very well-researched but also extremely readable. Massie brings the characters to life on the page and creates a vivid, moving portrait of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. This biography is most certainly not to be missed.