Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia
-Warnes has done a masterful job of bringing to life 1000 years of fascinating Russian history. The introduction gives a good historical overview of how Tsarism came into being. The succeeding chapters are divided by major political events and social upheaval. For instance, one chapter (1598-1605) is the "Time of Trouble." The reign of each tsar is analyzed within this framework, highlighting major events, but also giving abundant personal details such as marriages, children, etc. Numerous highlighted boxes in each chapter give either family trees or explain something of interest in that time period, such as "serfdom in the period of Elizabeth" or "Tsar Alexei's Shopping List." There are numerous quotes from personal letters, contemporary historians, and other primary sources as well as many maps of major battles or other historical events. With an extensive epilogue; a huge "select bibliography"; a list of illustration credits; and an easy-to-read, well-organized text, this is a fine choice for students doing research on a specific ruler, or for those who are just interested in the story of Imperial Russia.Susan McFaden, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.