Romanov sisters

 By Alexander Bokhanov, 1993

Absolutely unique Book with a capital B. On more than 300 pages it tells the story of the last Tsar of Russia and his family. Often using quotations from diaries and correspondence give us a deep look into the very souls of the last Imperial family. Information is historically accurate and there are not to be found any speculations – isn´t the story of the last Romanovs fascinating as it is?

What makes the book a real treasure are hundreds of photographs – both formal and informal, and together they form a brightly coloured picture of a world long gone. Except from the photos there are also scans of letters and drawings, and also of important official documents.

The only „problem“ of this publication is the fact it came out back in 1993 and therefore includes no information on the sainthood of the family or the new discoveries from 2007.

Still it is by far the most amazing Romanov-related book I´ve ever seen. A definite "must have" for all who are interested in the subject.

By Peter Kurth, 1995

A very agreeable publication, which we could perhaps se as a less opulent version of Bokhanov´s book. While „The Romanovs – Love, power and tragedy“ puts equal importance on both text and pictures, „Tsar“ focuses its attention more to the images.

Perhaps the most admirable quality of the book is the use of beautiful photographs taken by Peter Christopher. Palaces in Livadia and Petersburg through his eyes are breath-taking. Thanks to an original idea of putting together the pictures from the past and present of one particular spot you can really feel the connection with history.

Peter Kurth is definitely a talented writer, but he may seem a little too unqualified when it comes to the Romanovs, because of his passionate belief in Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Anastasia. Not even the DNA tests convinced him she was a fraud, and this can be seen in the last two chapters, which in a direct consequence become partially inaccurate.

By Charlotte Zeepvat, 2004

A really beautiful cover pleases the eyes and the same feeling stay with the reader also after opening the book. "The Camera and the Tsars" present a long and successfull journey of the „marvelous aparatus“ from the beggining to a quite near past. Every picture is labelled with a name and a date and so not one stays silent. The author didn´t focus only on the last Imperial family, she gives more than enough space to other branches of the Romanov family – Konstantinovichi, Nikolaevichi or for example Mikhailovichi.

The book separates into chapters, which all have their own theme. As an example I can mention very interesting chapters about romanov brides or suitable marriages. The book is practically free of any political description of the time, and so it is better if the reader has already made some research in the area, therefore he or she can more easily conect with the people in the pictures.

The great plus are definitely the family trees in the back. The book reminds one that not only the family of Nicholas II. had a remarkable life.