The search for Anastasia

by John Klier

The fate of Anastasia and that of the Russian Imperial family is still shrouded in mystery, even after the announcement in 1993 of the discovery of their remains in a pit near Ekaterinburg, Eastern Russia. The many reports out of Russia concur that two of the royal children were missing from the grave, but they do not agree on their identity. John Klier untangles the strands of the Romanov mysteries, separating unpalatable truths from tactical, political lies. Fluent in Russian and an expert in Russian history, he has travelled to Russia, the USA and Western Europe in search of the lost Romanovs. He has examined secret archives in Russia, he has had exclusive access to the late James Blair Lovell's private archive of Romanov materials from Washington DC, and he has taken first-hand testimony from scientists and historians in Russia.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Historical, Russian History, Biography, Romanovs

Hardcover

First published June 29, 1995

Reviews

[Kelly Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

more like a history lesson on Russian communism and Bolsheviks and then a science lesson on what DNA is. Most of it is the imposter Anna Anderson duping royal families and throwing tantrums and being the biggest beggar in the world.

[Lyd's Archive (7/'15 to 6/'18) · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off: read this book, but let me warn you it's not all about Anastasia.

is not

who is

(The Special)
This was an interesting unbiased account of the search for the Romanov bodies and the people who claimed to survive. We got into the conspiracy theory that, as Helen Rappaport put it, "Letts and Jews" killed the Tsar and his family. they discussed in detail with maps and diagrams how the murders took place and the lives of the Bolsheviks who killed them. The chapters on Anna Anderson, however, were much more unclear. The ideas did not come up in chronological order and sometimes they went into complicated bits of genetics and, like Virginia Rounding, Klier is mad for detail, so much that he spends an entire chapter on how Anna Anderson's remains were tested to see if she was Anastasia. He does not explain what Anthroposophy is. to prevent you from having top read James Blair Lovell's biased account Anastasia: The Lost Princess, I will here redirect you to an article of unknown accuracy about the general philosophy for those interested in the book.
This is not a beginner Romanov book. I would recommend first reading or , and or a similar combination of Romanov books first. However, once you know the basic idea about the last imperial Romanovs, this is a good book to answer questions you may have about their muder and Anna Anderson. It also deals with in detail the romanticization of the Romanov family in the west. Highly recommended. :D

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soon after 20th Century Fox came out with their animated classic "Anastaisia" in 1997, "Romanov Mania" swept the country yet again. What really happened to the Imperial Family in 1918? Did anyone survive? Were the romantic stories about Anastasia's escape true? All of these questions stirred my intrest in addition to the intriging history behind this historic era in Russia.
This book was very interresting and informative about the time the Romanov family spent in exile in Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. When their very lives seemed to be crumbling around them their family only seemed to get closer and more reliant upon their faith. It was amazing, knowing when most would be crying out in protest on being treated so harshly, (and probably killed a lot sooner) the Imperial family took most of their plight in stride and trusted God to protect them, and the govenment that they felt they ran the best they knew how would rescue them. True, their rescue did not come in time, but it did issue in a new form of government and new form of politics in Russia. But, like them we will all be asking, did they really have to die and will Anastasia and the Romanov name ever "Rise Again?"

[Belle Meri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent enough book summarizing much of the last few decades of Romanov scholarship. It is definitely a book for the general public as it contains no source notes or footnotes and merely a "selected bibliography." The authors's state in the forward that they didn't feel the need to "clutter" the book with footnotes thus ruining the book for any serious academic research.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was as expected, a very interesting read. So much chaos and confusion surrounds the assassination of the Imperial Family that the truth will most likely never be known. The author provides a good overview of all the popular accounts, theories and investigations.

[Lyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I read this a good three years ago & from what I remember it was a bit confusing. However, if you want the best account of the whole Anastasia business and whatnot, this book is your metaphorical guy.

[Craig McGraw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed story of the missing Grand Duchess

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to get into this book, but just had a really hard time. At times, I had a hard time following the storyline.
I did like that it was an unbiased book.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

[Cami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had always been fascinated by the story of Anastasia, the Romanov princess who may or may not have survived the brutal execution of her family. From the movie starring Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman, the cartoon version of the same name, "Yes, Anastasia" by Tori Amos...anyway, this book was absolutely fascinating reading and still gives a twist at the end. If you think you know the story of Anastasia I would highly recommend this book. It's got great photographs as well. There is some grisly stuff in there from time to time, but this family was executed and this is a bit of a CSI book.
Totally worth plowing through to get to the end: the solving of a great mystery.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't a horrible book. I just wasn't interested enough to finish it.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.The romanovs are so interesting to me.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed and interesting. I loved the section describing the DNA testing