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The Race to Save the Romanovs

the Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family
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Sep 24, 2018TheresaAJ rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
As a serious historian, Rappaport has a very approachable writing style. Footnotes are kept to a minimum with notes and an extensive bibliography at the end of the book for those who want to know more. Her third book on the doomed family focuses on the politics and machinations that occurred behind the scenes in several "doomed-to-failure" escape plans. Since so many of the European monarchs of the time period were related via Queen Victoria, this story has elements of a bad family drama. Nicky (Tsar Nicholas II) is considered weak while Alix (Tsaritsa Alexandra) was bossy, unlikable, and considered the real power behind the throne. Willy (Kaiser Wilhelm II) is the family's bad boy and doesn't play well with others. Their spats, dreams of land expansion, and global dominance are played out across the European continent via World War I. While history has always blamed either George V of England or Kaiser Wilhem for not getting the Romanov family out of Russia, the author posits that they wouldn't have left anyway. This book is a fascinating look at a family that still fascinates people 100 years after their deaths.