Customer Reviews

The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin

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"Contradictions, what of them, for you they are contradictions, but I am me, Grigorii Rasputin, and that's what matters: look at me, see what I have become!"(De Jonge 124). This one statement made by Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin is the window to his soul. Every part of his complex personality is exposed in it, but it takes the 350 page book by Alex De Jonge to realize it. "The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin" is an in depth and well researched biography not only on "the mad monk" but also on all of the lives that he touched. Through this book one can successfully throw away the many Russian rumors that have become Rasputins's legacy to formulate a better objective view of what is closer to the truth. De Jonge is not forceful with his own opinion; he is more like a tour guide who presents all the information and then allows the "tourist" to believe what he likes.

Don't you see how strange the shadow and specter of Rasputin is still living, at least in our imaginations, up to now.!!

The tragedy of the Russian Tsarina, looking for someone with the power to heal her ailing son and successor to the Russian throne was indeed the predominant factor that raised the `terrible monk' from the throes of the slums to the magnificence of the Russian palace.

Alexandra was not fooling with Rasputin, as widely and wrongly spread. She knew the monk was an artful loquacious, indolent, pleasure loving and more difficult to make him work, but she didn't suspect he was a sheer liar.

Initially, Rasputin set himself to please the royal court by being obsequious and entertaining reciting funny stories and acts of buffoonery.

Greater only than his aversion to the `commoners' of the Russian society- of whom he was one - was his aversion to Jewish communities that mainly represented the reforming tendencies in Russia and had been the real power behind the 1905 unrests, which followed the Russo-Japanese wars.

Tsar Nicola II, whose optimism the Tsarina shared, was extravagantly feted as much for Rasputin's magnificent presence at his court and of his influence.

Totally immersed and absorbed by the illness of their son, the royal couple did not really appreciate the degree of contempt felt by the other princes of `royal blood' combined with sense of inferiority vis-à-vis the newcomer

This forgave Rasputin his caustic manner and his tendency to bad temper and impolite language and his easy faculty for making enemies had flourished during the last couple of years before 1917 revolution.

Rasputin was an inveterate mystic faith healer who never found it temperamentally difficult to anticipate trouble. If his face was sagging with worry, this transpired his senses of doom and gloom. The cult of arrogance practiced by Rasputin affected no one painfully than Alexandra. She trusted his intelligence and treated him as conscientious and hard-working `member of the family'. Any comments to the contrary made by others she described as rude, tactless, disputatious and given to sneering ill-manners.

This was the first book of de Jonge's I read. I was so amazed by his method of doing history that I read the book twice. Since then I've read every book of his I could find and, happily, his historiography is consistent in all his writing. What I admire about his method is his balance and his ability to show the various facets of a complex subject without engaging in polemic and yet making his view of the issue quite clear. It is his personalist mode of historiography that I admire. The conclusion I drew from Rasputin is that he seems to have had some sort of inexplicable power, but for the most part he was a typical Russian peasant from Siberia whose strange religious practices were not that much different from the Oneida community of 19th century New York. Neither a saint nor a sinner, but a shrewd, cunning, uneducated peasant who really did know the peasant mind about Russia and took advantage of the opportunities before him. That seems to me to be the best explanation of a difficult figure of history.

Alex deJonge's "The Life And Times Of Grigorii Rasputin" presents a portrait of Rasputin "The Mad Monk" in a language which is never dull or pedantically dry.

After reading this book, one can almost imagine that he has met Rasputin at one time or another . . . that you do know him (in so far as this man was knowable at all).

So much of the information that is "popular" concerning Rasputin has its origins in the "anti Czarist" crowd . . . either those who were "more royal thanm the Royals themsleves" or from the revolutionary engineers who wanted to use Rasputin to smear the Czar and his family in order to weakin public support for the reverence of the "Little Holy Father" so as to make the revolution gain greater acceptance in the hearts and minds of the populace. So, accurate and factual information about Rasputin has never been easy to obtain or claim. There has usually been a hidden interest or agenda behind the depiction of this "mystery of history".

But here, deJonge presents a picture of Rasputin which covers all bases. One can make up his/her own mnd as to what and who Rasputin was.

But he does present a spiritual aspect to Rasputin which has often been downplayed or dismissed outright. You can feel that, whatever his character flaws were, Rasputin did have faith . . . and a powerful faith at that. Jesus said, "if you have the faith as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain to move . . .and it will move." . . .well, Rasputin did move mountains . . . his prayers were responsible for the healings of more than one individual, the Carevich being the most notable . . . and more than once. It wasn't his "letchery" that attracted the admiration of so many intelligent followers and devotees . . .

This book is a worthwhile read . . . it entertains and sheds light on a mythic mystic figure . . . and perhaps shows a litle light on our own times and on ourselves a bit as well.

I saw this author Alex de Jonge in a television biography of Rasputin. He seems to have a creepy sense of humor which I found hilarious as he said that after Yusupov shot Rasputin and went down to examine the body, suddenly Rasputin opened his eyes and said: "you've been a very naughty boy" or something like that hahaha.

All joking aside though, I don't understand the criticisms levelled against this book as being boring. I actually found it to be interesting and informative. The focus is on Rasputin from the beginning of his life to its bitter end, and considerable text also talks about other people who were associated with Rasputin or the Romanovs. That didn't bother me. Throughout there are also some rare and intriguing facts, like Rasputin's ties to the notorious Khlysty sect, an unorthodox religious group which enjoyed night-time orgies out in the fields or farmhouse basements as a form of worship. An enlightening read about one of history's most strange and mysterious figures.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

Quite simply, this may be one the wost biographies I have ever read. The life of Rasputin is exciting and scandalous with stories of political revolution, drinking, sex, and murder. Alex deJonge has succeeded in making the story boring. In wiriting this, I believe deJonge lacked focus which results in the overall story deteriorating.

Rasputin's life started as a simple peasant. After a visit to a monestary, he became highly influenced by God and Christian ways. Rasputin could never actually become a monk because he was married. He did live the life of a man of God. As a man of great contradictions, he continues to drink heavily and live a very sexual life despite discovering religion. Rasputin was popular with women and the Romanov family, but he had too many critics. The scandals he caused ended up leading to the critics that murdered him. His murder is the only part of this book that is well portrayed.

The books spends to much time describing the physical landscape of Russia and other extraneous material which really has no place in the book. Based on the fact that the book is about Rasputin's life, I expected that to be the focus. However, the author goes entire chapters without even mentioning the subject of the biography.

I am not sure a good biography of Rasputin exists. Because of its lack of focus, this biography must be among the worst. Edvard Radzinsky's biography may be a better choice despite his tendency to be verbose.

What a book...what a waste of precious time. I selected The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin for a book review I had to write for my Honors Government class as I had always been fascinated by the man who has often been credited with bringing about the downfall of Tsarist Russia. Unfortunately, this book was far from what I had expected. I have read plenty on Rasputin, and this by far has been the worst book I have ever read about him. De Jonge takes pleasure it seems in rambling verbally about the Russian countryside and dedicates very little time to the actual man. The only way I'd recommend this book is if it were to someone sufferring from chronic insomnia, and even then probably not.