One Man in His Time

by Serge Obolensky

The memoirs of Serge Obolensky. Born a Prince in Czarist Russia, he became a great soldier in two of the most devastating wars in history. Some experiences have been highly dramatic, others hilarious in times of maximum stress. He lived a life heroic in war and dedicated in times of peace to the principles of democracy. He was deeply involved in the reforms of Czar Alexander II, the liberation of the serfs, and great land reforms of Russia. His life from a cavalry private in the first World War, to the Russian Revolution with a price on his head under the Bolshevik terror in hiding, then to the second World War rising to the rank of Lt Colonel in the US Paratroopers jumping at the age of 53. Serge emerges as a legend in the hotel business as Vice Chair of the Zeckendorf Hotels which owns and operates at the time, several of NY’s finest hotels.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Biography

433 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1958

Reviews

[Anna Kravchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title with its reference to Shakespear suits this book just perfectly. Serge Obolensky was a man of an unbelievable fate, his life was full of dramatic turns and he was not only a witness to history but one of the active contributors to it. It's not easy to say if one should consider a life like this fortunate or not but it definitely worths to be read about.
Serge Obolensky tells his story in a very simple and precise way which both entertains you and allows you to truly feel those days. He is extremely attentive to details. Whatever happens to him, he doesn't try to shock or impress the reader, he doesn't try to act as a history textbook, he doesn't hate or blame anyone and he certainly doesn't try to justify his own actions or thoughts. He tells about wars, Russian revolution, parties all over the world, people he met and women he loved. You look at the old black and white pictures and you feel that you begin to understand these people who lived in so recent but so drastically different time.

PS The book is long but really convenient if you read only sporadically since you don't need to memorise long plot or a large number of characters. Just open it and immerse yourself in history.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating memoir of a fantastically well-connected Russian prince. The narrative moves from late Czarist Russia to Oxford before the War, to the Russian cavalry in WWI, a narrow escape from the Bolsheviks in Odessa, and then eventually the United States, for whom he fought as a paratrooper in Sardinia. The remaining few chapters are devoted to his life as a hotelier in 1950s New York City and the various denizens of high society whom he came to know.

Competently written, fairly well edited.