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Ratings: ★★★★☆(4.8/5)
Genre: History / Biography / Russian History / Royalty

Book Review:
A Dazzling, Definitive Epic of Power, Passion, and Tragedy
Simon Sebag Montefiore has a gift for making history read like the most gripping of novels, and with ''The Romanovs: 1613-1918,'' he has produced his masterpiece. This is a book of immense scope and dazzling detail, a sweeping, intimate, and utterly compelling portrait of the dynasty that ruled Russia for over three centuries.

The story of the Romanovs is one of almost unimaginable extremes: of absolute power and abject vulnerability, of immense wealth and grinding poverty, of cultural brilliance and savage brutality. Montefiore captures it all. He introduces us to a cast of unforgettable characters: the visionary reformer Peter the Great, who built St. Petersburg and dragged Russia into the modern age; the brilliant and insatiable Catherine the Great, who expanded the empire and presided over a golden age of culture; the mad Tsar Paul; the reactionary Nicholas I; and the tragic, ill-fated Nicholas II, the last tsar, whose weakness and indecision led to the revolution that would consume his family and his world.

Montefiore is equally adept at describing the grand sweep of history and the intimate details of private life. He takes us into the bedrooms and the palaces, revealing the passions, the intrigues, the sexual scandals, and the family dramas that were as much a part of the Romanov story as wars and treaties. He shows us the tsars and tsarinas not as remote historical figures, but as human beings, with all their strengths, flaws, and contradictions.

The book culminates in the harrowing account of the final days of the Romanovs, their imprisonment, and their brutal execution in a cellar in Ekaterinburg in 1918. Montefiore tells this story with a gravity and compassion that is deeply moving.

Critics have been unanimous in their praise. The Sunday Times called it ''vast and dazzling...utterly compelling from start to finish.'' The Times said, ''When history is written this way one can never have too much.'' The Daily Telegraph declared, ''Read the book from cover to cover. There is never a dull page.''

''The Romanovs'' is a masterpiece of narrative history. It is a book that will inform, entertain, and move you. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Russia, in royalty, or simply in a brilliantly told story of power and its consequences. Highly recommended.