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A fascinating pictorial depiction of the last of the Romanovs. I had just recently read "Fall of Giants," which covers WWI & precipitates the rise of communism & inevitable demise of a ruling family that was so terribly out of touch with their subjects. So this book was a good follow-up.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, archives have been available with diaries & pictures of Nicholas II & Alexandra. I got a different picture of Alexandra than what I had in mind by seeing stories of their love for each other. Alexandra impressed me as a strange person, but they did have a close & loving family. There are beautiful current pictures of locations together with shots from the family collection. Regardless of the fact that they lived such a privileged life amidst the cruel poverty of the Russians, it is sad how the family was treated & eventually murdered. They came from centuries of being told the people revered their Tsars. So even though they possibly could have escaped, they didn't really understand the hatred towards them & what they represented until it was too late.