Ivan the Terrible: A Captivating Guide to the First Tsar of Russia and His Impact on Russian History

by Captivating History

If you want to discover the captivating life of Ivan the Terrible, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! Considering that he has gone down in history as Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia could hardly have been a Boy Scout. As his name suggests, Ivan had an utterly terrifying presence during his thirty-seven-year-long reign. Ivan's story is not only one of brutality, but it is also a tale of great suffering. It's the story of a little boy whose father died when he was just a toddler; a story of a child whose mother was poisoned when he was only seven years old. This was a boy who had to struggle to survive as the warring nobility threatened, molested, and harassed him endlessly while he tried to protect his only friend—his deaf and mute little brother. This is also the tale of a young man who was desperate for power to defend himself and found it when he was made the tsar. And it's almost the story of a good and capable ruler whose wild temper was soothed by the presence of a tsaritsa who seemed capable of calming the storm that was Ivan's mind; but, sadly, Ivan's beloved first wife was poisoned and died in agony, plunging him into a cauldron of darkness and depression that produced the tyrant that has gone down in history as a monster. In this book, you'll discover his story. In Ivan the A Captivating Guide to the First Tsar of Russia and His Impact on Russian History, you will discover topics such as Russia Before the First TsarA Lineage of HeroesThe Birth of an EmperorAssassinationBecoming TerribleThe Coronation of the First TsarAn Ambitious Young RulerBooks and CathedralsDeath in the FamilyBetrayalRevengeThe Failure of the OprichnikiTwo KillingsThe Legacy of Ivan “The Terrible”And much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the history of Ivan the Terrible, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!

Genres: History, Biography, Russia, Nonfiction

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2019

Reviews

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An horror novel, indeed.

Despite some controversy about the author style (on the reviews), a personaly liked how he did it.

It was a fast and interesting reading.

[Diego Palomino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read, very interesting character and part of Russian history. This little book reads like a novel making it entertaining. It makes the characters come alive. The writing is very accessible and the story is well researched and full of facts. A good introduction to early Russian history.

[Nerea Blanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro de tinte histórico que trata de exponer no solo el reinado, sino también la vida de uno de los personajes más recordados de la historia de Rusia: Iván IV, el primer Zar de Rusia. A pesar de la leyenda y de la imagen popular que se tiene de este personaje, el libro no trata de exponer sus atrocidades, sino de explicar cuál fue la vida del zar para tratar de comprender a uno de los emperadores más recordados. Además, en el libro tampoco trata de dar una imagen bondadosa ni aterradora del monarca, resalta tanto las proezas como las masacres del monarca, sus hazañas y sus errores. Un personaje que resulta muy importante para poder comprender, no solo la historia posterior de Rusia, sino también su presente, a pesar de que hace más de un siglo que no gobierna un zar en el territorio. A pesar de que al principio pueda parecer un poco tedioso la consecución de datos, resultan imprescindibles para poder entender la historia del personaje, cuya vida se encuentra novelada al tiempo que expone datos importantes de su existencia. Al principio parece que te pierdes un poco, y sería necesario tener un mapa histórico para comprender las zonas de las que se habla. Sin embargo, al final del documento se encuentra se encuentran las referencias de los datos históricos, muy útil si te interesa el tema y quieres profundizar más en él.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting to read about Russian imperial history in the light of the Russian War against Ukraine. Since every war has deep causes I wanted to learn about Russian history, their fears and geopolitical aspirations.

The person of Ivan the Terrible we can look at in three dimensions. One is as the first Russian tsar who unified and founded all Russians lands. Second dimension is his unfortunate childhood which left him with deep wounds which than deepened after death of his beloved wife. The third dimension is his bloodthirsty character which made Russia so weak and leaderless after his death.

This book is relatively short and easy to read because it is written in a very concise way (you can read it within an hour or so).

This is my assessment of this book Ivan the Terrible by Captivating history according to my 8 criteria:
1. Related to practice - 3 stars
2. It prevails important - 5 stars.
3. I agree with the read - 2 stars (even this short book about that bloodthirsty tsar was disturbing for me to read)
4. not difficult to read (as for non-English native) - 4 stars
5. Too long (more than 500 pages) - short and concise (150-200 pages) - 5 stars
6. Boring - every sentence is interesting - 3 stars
7. Learning opportunity - 5 stars
8. Dry and uninspired style of writing - Smooth style with humouristic and fun parts - 4 stars



Total 3.875 stars

[Luciana Nery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a history series aimed at young adults. The history facts are solid, but the storytelling is naive and reductive. And oh, the platitudes. See:

"Ivan the terrible was a murderer. He was a rapist, a killer [what, again? you said just it], a dictator, a tyrant, an appalling monarch and, some would say, a monster. Yet his monstrosity stemmed from his agony, his violence from fear [armchair psychology? Oh my] . Ivan was a frightening presence and a blight on the face of Russian history, but he was also, above all, a human being [no shit, Sherlock!].

So yeah, he was a monster, and also a human being. Who would have thought. Anyway. At least, fact-wise, the book delivers. But, yes, it's aimed at YA. In which case, it's super cool, go ahead.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you thought Vlad and Caligula were bad, they could have taken lessons from Russia's first tsar! The mildly evasive stories told about him are minimal compared to the real horror depicted here. Not a comfortable read, but well researched and presented.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book, though I didn’t care for the writing style. Also, it seemed to me that the author went to some effort to excuse Ivan for the horrible acts he committed or had others commit for him. It was worth reading but not memorable.

[Joan Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick overview of a very sick and "terrible" man who had quite an effect on Russian history.

[F. Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sad life. It started out so promising.