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  • Rasputin

  • The Biography
  • By: Douglas Smith
  • Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
  • Length: 33 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

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Rasputin

By: Douglas Smith
Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
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Publisher's Summary

A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. The spectre of the lustful Siberian holy man and peasant still casts its eerie shadow over Russia's bloody 20th century.

Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and guardian of the sickly heir to the throne. His debauchery and sinister political influence are the stuff of legend, and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty was laid at his feet. Even during his lifetime Rasputin was shrouded in myth, and his true story remains obscure today.

Douglas Smith's Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the true life of one of history's most alluring figures. Rasputin draws on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries and is the most thoroughly researched biography ever written. Demolishing the caricature of the holy devil, Smith's account presents Rasputin in all his complexity - man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. More than just the story of an extraordinary life, Rasputin offers a fascinating portrait of the twilight of Imperial Russia as it lurched towards catastrophe.

©2016 Douglas Smith (P)2016 Macmillan Digital Audio

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hard to listen

Made it to about the halfway mark but listening to love child of SIRI and Steven Hawking read a book is not a pleasant experience. It's a shame as the book is an interesting one but I can't go on.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very peculiar narrator

An excellent book on a fascinating man. Unfortunately the narrator has a very strange cadence.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good, perhaps lengthy

The overall narrative is very strong, but I do wonder if there are not too many details at some points. It would have been good to have had a download with a list of names and a map showing where the places are, including Rasputin's birthplace.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An objective historical research

This book contains a sincere attempt to analyse various sources and determines which narratives about the Rasputin were pure fantasies and which include seeds of truth in them.
It can be used as an example of an objective and unbiased historical research. Notably, during the current times, wherein many authors try to force their narrative on past events, and they work to encourage only those sources/events which support their story.
Due to its sincere attempt to demystify the past, the book is sometimes long and might seem boring to some readers; nevertheless, in the end, one could see how the facts were usually distorted by various historical figures.

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