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bahareads's review against another edition
4.0
Massie has done it again! I was deep in Russia at the time of Peter the Great. This books was history told Peter's story without being boring or draggy. Massie is a fantastic author. I would recommend him to anyone.
erinbottger's review against another edition
4.0
Good writing and history, but in Massie's details I found Peter the Great to be such a repulsive human being that it tainted the whole book for me. I didn't even want to share it with anyone (and I was living in Moscow at the time and have great interest in Russian history).
I can't remember ever having this reaction to a biography before. And it was intensified because 90% of Russians to this day practically worship the man, despite his destruction of the church and lives in constructing St. Petersburg- not to mention the murder of his own son. Perhaps his perverse court entertainment of viewing copulating dwarfs and his misogyny and were the final straw for me.
I can't remember ever having this reaction to a biography before. And it was intensified because 90% of Russians to this day practically worship the man, despite his destruction of the church and lives in constructing St. Petersburg- not to mention the murder of his own son. Perhaps his perverse court entertainment of viewing copulating dwarfs and his misogyny and were the final straw for me.
hua's review against another edition
5.0
Robert Massie is such a good history writer. He made the life story of Peter an absorbing adventure enjoyed by a person like me who have hated history in the past 40+ years of my life. :) Will read many books by him in the coming months.
grace_theliteraryfiend's review against another edition
5.0
At 1000+ pages Peter the Great is more than a biography of the Russian monarch, it is an all encompassing look at Peter and his European contemporaries. After reading Robert K. Massie's meticulously researched history I feel I know as much about Charles XII of Sweden as I do about Tsar Peter I.
This is a pretty standard biography, retelling the life of Peter I in a linear narrative from birth to death. A great deal of attention is paid to Peter's love of shipbuilding and his creation of a Russian navy, as well as the relationships he held most dear. Over the course of the book the reader is educated as much on European current affairs of the day as they are about Russian life under Peter I.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize there isn't much to say about this biography other than it is a remarkable achievement, Massie packs as much detail into his narrative as possible all while keeping a steady narrative pace.
If you are a fan of Russian history or simply enjoy a well written biography than I would recommend this book.
This is a pretty standard biography, retelling the life of Peter I in a linear narrative from birth to death. A great deal of attention is paid to Peter's love of shipbuilding and his creation of a Russian navy, as well as the relationships he held most dear. Over the course of the book the reader is educated as much on European current affairs of the day as they are about Russian life under Peter I.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize there isn't much to say about this biography other than it is a remarkable achievement, Massie packs as much detail into his narrative as possible all while keeping a steady narrative pace.
If you are a fan of Russian history or simply enjoy a well written biography than I would recommend this book.
realbooks4ever's review against another edition
3.0
I started reading the lengthy PETER THE GREAT: HIS LIFE AND WORLD, written by Robert K. Massie, not knowing much about the Czar of Russia. At first I thought, what a wonderful man – he seeks knowledge traveling the world! By the end of the book all I thought was why does he hate Sweden so much?
The first third was interesting. Massie writes a bit about Russia before Peter’s birth and then his young manhood. The second third was bogged down by military maneuvers. The rest of the book tells of Peter’s zealous attitude towards truth, justice, and fidelity to the Czar. He had no qualms about sending former friends, and even his son, to be tortured and executed in the most horrific of ways.
I found the narrator of the audiobook to have an irritating voice. What may be a British accent resulted in the pronunciation of “Tatars” sounding like “ta-tas”, which I couldn’t help but laugh at every time I heard it!
On to CATHERINE THE GREAT!
The first third was interesting. Massie writes a bit about Russia before Peter’s birth and then his young manhood. The second third was bogged down by military maneuvers. The rest of the book tells of Peter’s zealous attitude towards truth, justice, and fidelity to the Czar. He had no qualms about sending former friends, and even his son, to be tortured and executed in the most horrific of ways.
I found the narrator of the audiobook to have an irritating voice. What may be a British accent resulted in the pronunciation of “Tatars” sounding like “ta-tas”, which I couldn’t help but laugh at every time I heard it!
On to CATHERINE THE GREAT!
lubinka's review against another edition
5.0
Robert K. Massie won my heart with his book about Catherine the Great, so I definitely had to read the one about Peter as well. I cannot believe that I postponed it for so long. This will be one of the best books I've read this year. Massie writes in a clear and concise manner, spicing up the story with ample details which nonetheless never burden the line of narration. The book is perfectly suited both for serious history students as well as those of us who simply enjoy reading history. Indeed this huge tome was so well written, compelling, suspenseful and dramatic at certain points, that it reads like a real page turner.
What I mostly enjoyed in the book was the fact that not only was Peter's portrayal as true and extensive as possible, but also that the author took great care to represent the bigger picture, including extended depictions of many other major - and minor - players of the era, both in Europe and in Russia. We really do get to learn all about Peter's world, from the life of the average Russian peasant to the role of the Holy Roman Empire in European politics. Massie has the amazing ability to handle the intertwined paths of European diplomacy with stunning balance and evenhandedness. He neither turns his protagonists into saints, nor fails to find the deeper reasons underneath seemingly irrational behaviors. The description of Peter's relationship with his son and heir Alexis was blood chilling, and I had to admire the author's decisiveness to not take parts in a very messed-up situation.
"Peter has been idealized, condemned, analyzed again and again, and still ... he remains essentially mysterious. One quality which no one disputes however is his phenomenal energy. He was a force of nature, and perhaps for this reason no final judgment will ever be delivered."
And while no final judgment may exist, this exquisite book will be a true treasure for all those who wish to learn more about Peter and his world.
What I mostly enjoyed in the book was the fact that not only was Peter's portrayal as true and extensive as possible, but also that the author took great care to represent the bigger picture, including extended depictions of many other major - and minor - players of the era, both in Europe and in Russia. We really do get to learn all about Peter's world, from the life of the average Russian peasant to the role of the Holy Roman Empire in European politics. Massie has the amazing ability to handle the intertwined paths of European diplomacy with stunning balance and evenhandedness. He neither turns his protagonists into saints, nor fails to find the deeper reasons underneath seemingly irrational behaviors. The description of Peter's relationship with his son and heir Alexis was blood chilling, and I had to admire the author's decisiveness to not take parts in a very messed-up situation.
"Peter has been idealized, condemned, analyzed again and again, and still ... he remains essentially mysterious. One quality which no one disputes however is his phenomenal energy. He was a force of nature, and perhaps for this reason no final judgment will ever be delivered."
And while no final judgment may exist, this exquisite book will be a true treasure for all those who wish to learn more about Peter and his world.
nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition
3.0
Now if I can just find a book covering his life, that'd be great. Sadly, Moscow's peasantry doesn't make me interested in Peter the Great.
sylviajoyw's review against another edition
4.0
I spent a nice week with Peter, reading 150 pages a day for seven days. The edition I got at the library came in at over a thousand pages, making it the longest book I've read since 2017. For the most part, it was a breeze to read, EXCEPT for the Battle of Poltava. Although I understand that this was an important part of Russian military history, it was definitely a drag to get through, especially for someone (like me) who isn't passionate about battles and war-related things in general.
I guess my biggest critique of the book is that it was maybe a bit too long and descriptive. That being said, Massie has done a wonderful job of making the life of Peter the Great interesting and accessible for the average reader. If you are at all interested in Russian history or just in great rulers in general, I highly recommend this detailed and well-written biography.
I guess my biggest critique of the book is that it was maybe a bit too long and descriptive. That being said, Massie has done a wonderful job of making the life of Peter the Great interesting and accessible for the average reader. If you are at all interested in Russian history or just in great rulers in general, I highly recommend this detailed and well-written biography.
lizbarr's review against another edition
3.0
The parts I read, I really loved. But large chunks of the book were taken up with detailed battle scenes, and I can’t get my head around that sort of thing. So there was skimming. But the bits I read, I really enjoyed, especially how Peter the Great was … well, quite good at being a Tsar, but also good at lots of other things. While also being prone to tantrums, torture, snap executions. You know.
One omission that I found frustrating, though, was women. I know the book is called Peter the Great, but the lives of Russian women changed drastically in just a generation — and there’s nothing about how they felt or experienced these changes. (I hit up the bookstores and libraries, but it looks like, as far as English-language popular histories are concerned, Russian women were invented with the Bolshevik Revolution.) I’m hoping that Massie’s book on Catherine the Great covers this area a bit, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
One omission that I found frustrating, though, was women. I know the book is called Peter the Great, but the lives of Russian women changed drastically in just a generation — and there’s nothing about how they felt or experienced these changes. (I hit up the bookstores and libraries, but it looks like, as far as English-language popular histories are concerned, Russian women were invented with the Bolshevik Revolution.) I’m hoping that Massie’s book on Catherine the Great covers this area a bit, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
lieslindi's review against another edition
A meaty history is fine for the contexts in which I was reading this book (work breaks of regimented 15 or 30 minutes or the space between arriving in class and the class beginning): I'm not going to lose the thread of the narrative or forget the plot. However, to have read only 40% after two months, and for that point to be the one at which the warring started, meant I skipped to the final chapter and watched him die with an inappropriate relish.