Czars: Russia's Rulers for More Than One Thousand Years (Serial) [Hardcover]

James P. Duffy (Author), Vincent L. Ricci (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?A detailed but very readable book about the rulers of the Russian Empire. The authors trace the monarchy from the rule of Rurik, a Viking, through 1000 years to its final demise with the execution of Nicholas II in 1918. Readers are guided through the skirmishes among rivals for power and the wars with outside forces on the road to the expansion of the empire. Each monarch is discussed in some detail. The book includes 17 illustrations of czars (part of a personal collection of one of the authors), several maps that show the development of the empire, and 4 geneological charts help track the order of succession. This title should be sought by YAs studying Russian history, literature, and language and will encourage readers to seek more comprehensive and scholarly works.?Barbara L. Arthur, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Duffy and Ricci (Target Hitler, Greenwood, 1992) offer a basic survey of Russian czardom from the legendary mists of the ninth century to the murder of Nicholas II in 1918. For the first 500 years, leaders were actually called grand princes, and their reigns were punctuated by endless internecine strife. Slowly, the "gathering of lands" under Moscow's leadership created a sense of nationhood. Though the authors offer little thematic analysis, they present an interesting series of profiles replete with colorful anecdotes. The entire cast of characters is presented-not just the movers and shakers like Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible but the more obscure as well, e.g., the murderous Olga (945-955) and the hopelessly insane Paul (1796-1801). Duffy and Ricci provide unusually thorough coverage of the earlier centuries but by doing so are forced to race to the finish line. Still, most libraries should consider for the generally solid coverage.
Mark R. Yerburgh, Fern Ridge Community Lib., Veneta, Ore.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816028737
• ISBN-13: 978-0816028733
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,461,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Czars, September 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Czars: Russia's Rulers for More Than One Thousand Years (Serial) (Hardcover)

Czars: Russia's Rulers for More Than One Thousand Years is a great book. It is so well written, which makes it incredibly entertaining. It encompasses every facet of the Russian's fascinating history. This book I will definitely read again. Usually, I would find the Russian history complicated and rather dull, but this book makes it interesting. It is an overall masterpiece.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Russian history with few maps, March 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Czars: Russia's Rulers for More Than One Thousand Years (Serial) (Hardcover)

This is a very readable book about the long history of Russia under the Grand Princes and Czars. It contains many interesting facts about rulers you never knew existed. My only complaint is that it only has 5 maps and only 3 of them are helpful. A history book should have maps to help readers visualize the wheres, whens and whys. And a book about the 1000 year history of Russia under the Czars should have many maps. This book lists many cities and towns that were important throughout Russian history but it doesn't show on a map where they are/were located. This book goes into great detail about battles between Russia and the Khans, Ottomans, Swedes, Poles, Napoleon and the British. However, it does not provide maps to allow the reader to follow the battles. I had to find another book of maps to be able to fully understand what was going on. Hopefully, the next time the authors write a book or update this one they will take into consideration the reader's desire and right to know where things are happening.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, concise writing style, but lacking in graphics, May 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Czars: Russia's Rulers for More Than One Thousand Years (Serial) (Hardcover)

Fairly well written and detailed it unfortunately lacked the graphic information needed to complete the thought. Several times it would mention a certain region or town without giving the reader the map leaving you guessing to where the event had occured.

More pictures of the major players would have been welcomed as well, if possible.