Peter the Great

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.


Massie the Great   January 31, 2000
Terry (Scottsdale, Arizona)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

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.

Buy the book


They do not come better   October 11, 2000
W J Punt (Pretoria, Gauteng South Africa)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

Recuperating from illness at the house of an American friend in New Delhi. I discovered this book tucked away in his library. My bedridden days flew by as I became engrossed in one of the best biographies I have read in a long time What a magnificent attempt at describing the life and time of a truly remarkable individual like Peter the Great.

Mr Massie presents the historical fact in a clear and concise manner without sacrificing detail. The work is both rewarding for serious history students as well as those of us after a good read. Indeed the charm of this book is that it reads like a real page turning novel. The reader get a wonderful insight right trough the book of what life in Russia was like in the 17th century not just for a Tsar but for the common people as well Loads of little anecdotes and commentaries colour the story without obscuring it.

This is a story of awakening ,will to power and courage - Of a man and a nation - par excellance .

The book starts with the context that Peter was born into. A Russia still very much steeped in the deep middle ages of superstition and religious fundamentalism. His father Tsar Alexis and the his mother Tsaritsa Natalya doted on him as well as his sickly half brother Ivan ( his later co Tsar until he died at age 29) and from the very beginning the young prince showed that he was made of special stuff. The untimely death of his father, his days at Preobrazhenskoe playing soldier as a boy( the Preobrazhenskoe regiment was the automatic regiment that all Tsars belonged to until 1917 following in the tradition started by Peter) as well as the Strelsky revolt that nearly saw him and his mother slaughtered by the palace guards gets illuminated as the main formative events in the young princes life.

Peters contact with Dutch ship builders in Russia ( he initially thought they were German - all foreigners were Germans to Russians in those days) set the course for possibly his greatest achievement - The setting up of the Russian navy from literally nothing at all to a force rivalling Sweden and Denmark in the Baltic Sea. This chance meeting on the Russian steppes that had such enormous repercussion for Russia finally gets the historical attention it deserves in this book.

The Great Embassy to the West and especially Peters time in Amsterdam is described in detail. There he not just perfected his shipbuilding but also came into contact with Renaissance scientists and philosophers as well as an enlightened monarchy. This changed the man and the course of Russia forever.

His lifelong duel with Charles XII from Sweden is a fascinating read right down to the latter's final defeat at Poltava.

Peters death and it's consequences also receives attention from the author. A biography is as much about a person legacy in Death as in Life and Mr Massie understands that very well

Very important is that this book represents Peter as he was. A violent man at times and when circumstance demanded even brutal but always purposeful, never the wasteful madness of Ivan IV. He achieved remarkable things in a short space of time but he was also guilty of actions that were effective in its results but with methods most decent people in our time can only condemn. (torture was an effective political instrument in Peters eyes) Luckily he is not judged by the author according to 20th century Anglo Saxon morals as often happens in these type of books . Can we really honestly look at the splendour of St Petersburg and blame him for the thousands of Swedish prisoners of war he worked to death to build a Jewel on a swamp. Again the troubling recognition that history cares more for results than the moral modes of a given time confronts us in these pages.

For almost a half a century the story of Russia is the story of Peter Alexeivich. - read it, I cannot recommend it more than five stars allow.


Two Bios for the price of one   March 20, 2003
EJ
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

The words "definitive" and "magisterial" are often thrown about by reviewers, but I can not think of any better way to describe this work. Here is a rare book that actually deserves its Pulitzer.

Not only do we get the life of Peter, but Massie spends plenty of time with King Charles XII of Sweden, the man whose life would become so intertwined with Peter's. The subtitle, "His Life and World" is very accurate. We really do get to learn all about Peter's world, from the life of the average Russian peasant to the role of the Holy Roman Empire in European politics. Massie also provides us with capsule biographies of all the major and minor players, including Louis XIV of France and William III of England.

If you are interested in the life of Peter the Great, read this book. If you an interested in seeing proof of how one man can change the course of history, read this book. If you are interested in European diplomatic and military history, read this book. If you simply enjoy a well-told yarn, read this book.

I've read a lot of history books and this is one of the best. I literally never wanted to put it down. Check it out.