PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - An "urgently readable" (Newsweek) biography
of the captivating tsar who changed Russian history--from the New York
Times bestselling author of Nicholas and Alexandra, The Romanovs, and
Catherine the Great
"Enthralling . . . as fascinating as any novel and more so than
most."--*The New York Times Book Review
*
Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century
Europe and Russia unfolds the magnificent story of Peter the Great,
crowned co-tsar at the age of ten. Robert K. Massie delves deep into his
life, chronicling the pivotal events that shaped a boy into a
legend--including his "incognito" travels in Europe, his unquenchable
curiosity about Western ways, his obsession with the sea and
establishment of the stupendous Russian navy, his creation of an
unbeatable army, his transformation of Russia, and his relationships
with those he loved most: Catherine, the robust yet gentle peasant, his
loving mistress, wife, and successor; and Menshikov, the charming, bold,
unscrupulous prince who rose to wealth and power through Peter's
friendship. Impetuous and stubborn, generous and cruel, tender and
unforgiving, a man of enormous energy and complexity, Peter the Great is
brought fully to life.