Peter the Great (Paperback)

by Robert K. Massie (Author) "AROUND MOSCOW, the country rolls gently up from the rivers winding in silvery loops across the pleasant landscape..." (more)
Key Phrases: new tsaritsa, boyar council, two tsars, Tsar Alexis, Black Sea, Ottoman Empire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
First published in 1981, this award-winning biography remains a classic study of a quite remarkable character in Russian history. Remembered as an enlightened reformer and a statesman of considerable significance, yet also as a barbarous feudal tsar with a highly volatile temperament, Peter the Great provides the biographer with very rich pickings. Where Massie's volume triumphed over other predecessors, however, was in its extreme breadth of vision - as the Sunday Times remarked... 'by taking an enormous canvas and filling every inch of it with action and description... and in measuring him by the yardstick of that age (Massie) has shown... precisely why this 6ft 7in epileptic was hailed as Petrus Magnus Imperator'. This wonderfully chunky paperback - complete with maps and family tree - has all the components of a gripping novel, and is a must for all history buffs and biography fans, as well as all those who appreciate the rich diversity of Russian culture. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
"Enthralling . . . As fascinating as any novel and more so than most." The New York Times Book Review
The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Bestseller by the author of DREADNOUGHT.
Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia unfolds the magnificent story of Peter the Great, one of the most extraordinary rulers in history. Impetuous and stubborn, generous and cruel, tender and unforgiving, a man of enormous energy and complexity, Peter the Great is brought fully to life in this exceptional biography.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 928 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (October 12, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345298063
• ISBN-13: 978-0345298065
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #295,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic work on a fascinating man, February 13, 2000

By	phdc "phdc" - See all my reviews

I am working on a doctorate in Russian history, and, consequently, have read many, many, books on Russia. This book is by far the best book on Russian history. Robert Massie's Peter the Great is an elegantly-written work which not only provides abundant and overflowing information about the "great" man, but which, like no other book, transports the reader into the world of late 17th century and early 18th century Russia. I know that many "serious historians" pooh-pooh this work and others because it is not "serious history." This attitude is tragic. If you are interested at all in good history and good story-telling, this is the book for you, even if your interest is not specifically in Russian history. The author presents his subject, Peter the Great, as a "real person"--one with both inspiring qualities and with not so inspiring qualities. Yes, there are alot of details about the military, however, these details all illustrate Peter's great attention to the creation of a navy from scratch and of the development of an army that went on to rival the greatest in the world. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and cannot thank the author enough for having written it and having inspired me to continue my own studies.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massie the Great, January 30, 2000

By	Terry (Scottsdale, Arizona) - See all my reviews

Wow! Massie's Peter The Great is a fascinating study; an enjoyable read and a spectacular trip back through Russian history in the early 1700's. Even if you are not a history buff, you will enjoy Peter's thirst for knowledge, personal hands-on development of the Russian Navy, his massive economic, architectural and social reforms, ingenious manner of self-education by traveling incognito throughout Western Europe, his unique personality displayed through a mock Tsar who promotes Peter to Vice-Admiral, all-night drinking binges with his mock court and Peter's personal heroics.

Peter certainly earned his title and likewise I feel Massie can add "The Great" to his name. The best compliment I can give to Massie is I now have a tremendous thirst to study Peter's archenemy, Charles Xll, and learn Charles's perspective of Peter The Great.

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating book that you won't be able to put down, July 6, 2002

By	Ray Farmer (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book that Robert K. Massie wrote about the life and personality of Peter the Great and the challenges he faced in trying to make Russia a major power on the European stage of the 18th century. Although Peter is accurately described as being a driven, uncompromising, and oftentimes ruthless man, this book also presents his softer, warmer side that usually opened up only to his second wife Catherine and to his inner group of trusted friends.

In reading the biography of Peter, a great deal of insight is also gained into the society and politics of 17th-18th century Russia and Europe, which in the hands of any other historian might be written in a dry and abstract manner. With Massie, however, he has such an engaging narrative style that the book reads like an action novel at times (such as in describing the Battle of Poltava).

Each personality of monarchs that Peter dealt with in Europe and the Middle East is given an ample introduction in "Peter the Great", which is entertaining reading in its own right. For example, we learn that Augustus II, King of Poland and useless ally of Peter in the Great Northern War, was a sexual philanderer of extreme proportions and that Frederick Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, had his famous collection of giants and suffered from pains that almost drove him to insanity.

Of course, a major portion of the book is devoted to the conflict between Peter and his archnemesis Charles XII in the Great Northern War. Massie recounts how Charles' fanaticism and his legendary aura of invincibility eventually brought the Swedish empire to its knees.

All in all, this is a book that would appeal to the general interest reader, as well as to the Russophile and to the person interested in European history. If you do get this book, try to get the hardcover edition, because a 915+ page book in paperback starts to fall apart after awhile. And you definitely want to have a nice-looking copy of this book to grace your bookshelf for a long time.