Biography of Catherine the Great

A veeery detailed account. But it looks like the author sympathizes with his heroine.

Most of the book had me very interested. I don't know much about Russian history and it was nice to learn so many new things. I had to force myself near the end unfortunately. Also, I was not at all interested in the sexual deviancy of a philosopher. It wasn't necessary to add those details, in my opinion. ( )

I don't know why I didn't post a review for myself here. Probably because I (rightly, so far) knew this book had ignited an undying passion in me for more Massie and more Habsburgs. I am waiting for my next cycle of biography and/or history thirst to read another Massie book, but I spent atweeks delving into wikipedia and its bibliography lists/links all while filling my "Kim Academy" journal with notes. I think about Catherine often. ( )

The back cover of this book used several one word descriptions to describe it. "Enthralling, Masterful, Admirable, Riveting, & Compelling. All of these are totally applicable descriptions of the book, but since this is a book about Catherine The Great, why did no one include the most obvious adjective? Since no one did, I will. Great ! ( )