Customer Reviews

Rasputin (Pocket Biography)

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I wanted to get a brief introduction to the life of
Rasputin and this book delivered very well. It's well
writen, at times I thought I was reading the novelisation
of a film rather then history as it sort of plays out like
a movie.

Rasputin is an interesting character and this book made me want to read something more detailed and in depth on his life and
relationship with the Ramonavs. But I would suggest this book
for those who just want to get a glimps of who this man was. You
can read it in a couple hours.

Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was one of the most mysterious men in Russian history. It was difficult to understand his ways in life. Was he a holy man who was simply misunderstood, or was he a scheming sinner who manipulated the suffering of others? Was he a miracle worker or just a crafty manipulator of the Imperial Family? All of these questions and more are answered in Rasputin by Harold Shukman.

To this day, Rasputin is a shadowy and enigmatic character; a person of contradictory personality traits. He was a suitable scapegoat for those who wanted to attack the Tsar's actions and decisions, but who wouldn't confront Nicholas directly. Rasputin was thought to have powers related to God. In fact, most people believed he was God.

One of the most dramatic experiences in Rasputin projected these powers of God thought to be held by Rasputin. Rasputin had a very close friend, Anna Vyrubova. Not too give too much of the story away, but Anna was caught in a terrible derailment of a train in which she was almost killed. Although she survived the accident, doctors despaired of saving her life because her condition was so bad. Rasputin came to Anna and stood over her as she lay on her deathbed. He reached out and held her hand. Intensely focused, Rasputin repeated a prayer. Anna suddenly awoke from her coma; it was a miracle.

People believed Rasputin had an uncanny control over the Tsar and his wife. Rasputin enjoyed the celebrity status this reputation gave him. He was soon hated by all. The story of Rasputin's demise is well known. His assassinator, Prince Felix Felixovich Yussupov, always portrayed his murder of Rasputin as a political act to save Russia.

Rasputin was a man of malign and destructive force in Russian history. His religious teachings were unorthodox, and his alluring charisma aroused an illustrious response in many ladies of the St. Petersburg aristocracy. Shady financial dealings added to the atmosphere of decadence and scandal as he was considered a political threat.

This book fulfilled every one of my expectations. I was looking for a biography of a person whose life I knew close to nothing about. This way, I could learn something new. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It features events formed in the novelization
of a film, rather than in history context. The book is written so dramatically that I often was close to missing my stop while reading it on the train.

Some points in the book I found to be rather biased. The author depicted Rasputin to be a man with an unhealthy influence. Very few times in the book did Shukman present Rasputin as an honorable holy man with ostensible beneficent purposes. One must view a person from two perspectives: the good side and the bad side. If we pay attention to what one person depicts another as, we cannot set our own opinions. Instead, we will follow society's norm.

Rasputin offers a simple gist to Rasputin's life. If one would like to attain a detailed knowledge of Rasputin's life, then this book is not for them. This book can be read in a few hours. It has narrations and detailed events. Some pieces of his life are simply glimpsed. Nevertheless, it is a good read and I would recommend it to anyone.

It is a profound investigation about the demoniac monk. This book can teach us a great deal about the dark side of the human soul. The contents tend to lean us to two extremes: painful feeling of great fear and strange enchant.