The Romanovs

The title says it all about Massie's summary of the Romanov mystery. He covers every aspect--from the 1918 murder of the Russian royal family to the enigma of Grand Duchess Anastasia and her multiple imposters. It takes a special performer to keep the listener interested when the bulk of the story is made up of facts, multiple genealogies, and details of court proceedings; however, Geoffrey Howard fits that description very well. His deep, melodic voice and precise intonation keep one poised for the juicy tidbits of information hidden among the drier stuff. Howard also skillfully conveys Massie's respect for each facet of this complex story. K.O. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

October 2, 1996
A recounting of recent controversies in Russia over the burial of the remains of the last imperial family, killed during the Communist revolution.

Here is an offering from Books on Tape that one wishes some more ambitious publisher had issued. Not that it will bore or offend you. It deals with a fascinating subject--the corpses of the last Czar of Russia and his family. The Romanovs were presumed assassinated during the revolution, but the stories were vague, the bodies missing and pretenders always showing up...until very recently. The book details how their bodies were found and scientifically identified, just as the Soviet Union was collapsing and the new order (or lack of it) beginning. The listener aches for the visual evidence (continually being referred to) that one can find in a conventional book or in the TV documentaries that have appeared on the subject. As in many BOT nonfiction titles, the narrator, in this case Geoffrey Howard, reads like a robot, pushing for clarity but investing no personality whatsoever. Fortunately, he at least pronounces all the foreign names and technical terms correctly and even knows what they mean. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine