Grigory Rasputin

A Wicked History

by Norman Itzkowitz, Norman Itzkowitz

Explore the life of the a poor peasant who became one of the most powerful men in Russia by claiming to have mystical powers. The wicked ways of some of the most ruthless rulers to walk the earth are revealed in these thrilling biographies (A Wicked History) about men and women so monstrous, they make Frankenstein look like a sweetheart.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Russia, Middle Grade, Biography Memoir, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2007

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

Such an interesting and tragic story. I learned a few facts I had never heard before. A great intro to Rasputin and the Russian Revolution for students.

[Tucker F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book about Russian History, I love how the author ha this uprising plot or story for the information about Grigory Rasputin. It started out nice and slow but as I continued the story got more and more heated towards the Rasputin as many books should.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first young bio like this. It's much more gory than I would have expected, perfect for the young reader who is interested in the brutality of history and who is eager to delve into some reading. It does well at explaining the Rasputin draw and his magnetism. Enthralling for a young reader.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series A Wicked History is an amazing series but in particular the book that is on Grigory Rasputin by Enid A. Goldberg and Norman Itzkowitz is an AMAZING book. I really liked the book because it was challenging and i learned many other things by doing outside research. The book was really interesting and I did struggle a bitt but it was worth it. This man that I read about, Grigory Rasputin, was a really CRAZY man because he thought he could do things that made others believe that he was special. I am planning on reading more books from this series and would recommmend this book to anyone who would want to learn about a person that was just crazy.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first four titles in Scholastic's new Wicked History series, this book is sure to please reluctant teen readers. It's gripping from the first page as it starts with Rasputin's murder and then backtracks to his childhood and covers his life. Photos accompany the text and separate text boxes break things up with in-detail coverage of certain aspects of the book like hemophilia and World War I. The book concludes by asking whether Rasputin really was evil. It gives a two-page review of the bad and the good in Rasputin's life and asks readers, "What do you think: Was Rasputin truly wicked?" An index, glossary, short list of sources, and suggestions for further reading are included.

[Taha Ababou]

Taha Ababou
February 6, 2015
English 7-1
Pages 1-33

Grigory Rasputin was a Russian tsar that was born in Siberia, a cold land that covers a huge part of northeast Russia. Gregory was born in 1869. His daughter claimed that a meteor fell at the moment his father was born. Life in Rasputin's village wasn't so pleasant, there were many muzhiks, and modern people who lived the way their grandparents lived. "In Siberia, people lived much the way their grandparents did. Peasants farmed the land. They traveled only by horse and cart. Until he left home, Rasputin saw only pictures of steamboats and trains" (Goldberg 19). Therefore, Grigory Rasputin was a Russian tsar who was first raised as a peasant.

When Grigory was eight years old, his brother, Dimitri, died from a disease called pneumonia. Later on, after the shocking news Grigory learned about his brother, he started to act really strangely. He went to the forest for many hours, and spent most of his time with animals then, with boys of his age. A rumor said that Grigory has a great talent find lost objects, could tell when a stranger was about to arrive, when someone would die, could heal people and animals, and could possibly read minds. All the powers that Grigory possibly had may not be true, but he had one true talent, the talent to make people believe in him. "He was able to make people believe in him. One day that talent would give him power over many thousands of lives" (Goldberg 24). As one can see, Grigory had chances to become the tsar of Russia.

When Grigory was 14 years old, he had his first religious vision. Grigory Rasputin claimed to see God in his vision. Even though he claims to see God, he had done many bad things. Grigory stole, was drunk almost every night, and sold goods to receive enough money to buy vodka. "Grigory claimed the furs had been stolen by robbers. The villagers thought he had sold the furs and spent the money on vodka" (Goldberg 29-30). Thus, Grigory might have seen his first religious visions and have talents, but he has done many terrible things as a teenager.

Taha Ababou
February 13, 2015
English 7-1
Pages 34-55

During Grigory's lifetime as a child, he was taken to a famous holy man named, Makari by the monks. Grigory confessed everything to Makari about what he recently did. He told about hid crimes and his desire for women. When Grigory told Makari about his religious vision to Makari, Makari responded that his vision of God was real, and that he had a special purpose in life; to become a man of God. This has completely changed the life of Grigory. "After three months, Rasputin returned to his village. His neighbors saw right away that he had changed. He had stopped drinking and smoking…" (Goldberg 37). Therefore, when Grigory visited Makari, he had become a completely different person.

After Grigory's trip talking to Makari, Grigory started his path to the search of God. Grigory stopped drinking and smoking. He started to memorize and mumbled to himself the lines from the Bible while he walked. Grigory claimed that he started to view his visions again. Once, he saw Jesus walking along the Tura River. Another day he once saw a vision is when he slept under an icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He woke up and saw the icon crying; he claimed the painting spoke to him saying, "'Go wander, and {cleanse} the people of their sins'" (Goldberg 38). As one can see, Grigory Rasputin is becoming a holy man.

Many people didn't like and believe in Grigory. The people in his village couldn't believe that Rasputin was a thief that became a holy man. Some people believed that Grigory had become the way he is because of the way the farmers would treat him. When Grigory started to do many good and no trouble, people started to spread rumors about him. "In 1900, a woman complained that Rasputin tried to kill her. She said she had seen Rasputin attacking two young women in a field.When she tried to protect them, Rasputin attacked her. Police looked into the woman's charge. They decided she was lying" (Goldberg 42). Thus, there are some people who believes in Rasputin, and there are some people that doesn't believe in Rasputin.

Taha Ababou
February 21, 2015
English 7-1
Pages 56-82

During Rasputin's journey, he decided to go to new places in Russia instead of what he already knows. In 1903, he decided to go to St. Petersburg. Back then, St. Petersburg was known as the city of the tsars. Rasputin decided to become friends with church leaders for he can have power over most important people that was already there. In St. Petersburg, lived the Romanovs, the tsar family. Everyday he tried to get closer to them for one day he could have power over Russia. However, even though Rasputin had some power, he decided to go back to his village. Therefore, Grigory Rasputin began as a teenager thief to a powerful holy man.

In 1904, Rasputin went back to his village. That's when the real conflicts in Russia began. Russia was in war with Japan in January 1905. This war led to revolution in Russia. The tsar of Russia, Nicholas was scared that he would die and let another ruler rule Russia. His wife, Alexandra gave birth to her fifth son, which finally was a boy. Her birth didn't change anything in Russia. Russia was still in war with Japan, and the people of Russia started to hate their tsar because they thought that he was bringing Russia to an end. Thus, Russia was starting to collapse because of the war against Japan.

When Rasputin heard the news about the war between Russia and Japan, he decided to go back to St. Petersburg. He thought that he could help the tsar during the war. He believed that God had sent him to St. Petersburg for a reason. When he got there, there were more bad news than before; Alexandra's son, Alexis, was ill; he had a disease called the hemophilia. Rasputin's reputation became known in Russia as a healer. It was the perfect moment for Rasputin to get close to the Royal Family. One day, Rasputin was invited to the palace for the first time. He improved Alexis's health, that's when the royal couple started to trust him. Therefore, many people still believed in Rasputin but some didn't.

Taha Ababou
March 6, 2015
English 7-1
Pages 83-101

Since Rasputin healed Alexis and made him feel better, he started to get closer to the tsar and other important people from Russia. As he started to make friends, he also started to make enemies. One of his greatest enemy was Feofan, one of his old friend in his village. When Rasputin returned to his village, he didn't fasted when he was supposed to, and he left church services earlier than usual. When Feofan went to complain to the royal couple about Rasputin's attitude, they didn't really care, the tsar said that he still needed Rasputin. When the people of Russia learned what the tsar responded, it made them lose faith in the tsar. "But nothing could make Nicholas and Alexandra lose faith in Rasputin. One by one, they got rid of Rasputin's enemies" (Goldberg 85). As one can see, Rasputin is making friends with important people in Russia; and the people of Russia are started to lose faith in the tsar.

As his enemies were gathering together, they started to gain power over Rasputin. When Rasputin traveled to Siberia in 1910, Illiodor accompanied him. However, Illiodor still joined the side of Rasputin's enemies. Rasputin made a big mistake to show the pile of letters he received by Alexandra. When Illiodor read the letters he misunderstood them because it talked about Alexis's illness, a secret that had been kept between the royal family and Rasputin. "Like the rest of Russia, Illiodor knew nothing about Alexis's illness. Illiodor misunderstood the letters—and he was disgusted" (Goldberg 88). For Illiodor to have revenge on Rasputin, he stole a couple of letters to use it against Rasputin. At the end of 1911, Illiodor and Bishop Hermogen decided to stop Rasputin from gaining more power. They both called Rasputin to a meeting at a monastery. Unfortunately, it was a trap. Illiodor and Hermogen listed all Rasputin's crime he'd done. Hermogen threatened and hit Rasputin. Rasputin then swore that he would never see the royal family again. Therefore, Rasputin's enemies are starting to gain power over him.

In 1913, it was the year where Rasputin returned to St. Petersburg and it was a big year for Russia. The tsar's family, the Romanovs, had ruled the country for 300 years. In Europe, there was a war that was going to start. The tsar and most of the people of Russia wanted to go to war, but Rasputin warned the tsar that it would be a really bad idea. The tsar could've ignored Rasputin's advice and go to war, but he felt uncomfortable doing the opposite of what Rasputin would say. When the people of Russia learned about what Rasputin told the tsar about the war, they started to say that Rasputin is the new person ruling Russia instead of the original tsar. In 1914, Rasputin barely escaped from death. A poor woman came to Rasputin in the street and stabs him. "One afternoon in Siberia, a poor woman came up to Rasputin in the street. Rasputin thought she was a beggar and reached for a coin. The woman pulled a long knife from under her skirt. She plunged it into Rasputin's stomach" (Goldberg 97). Therefore, Rasputin's enemies are gaining more power than what he expected.

[Habiba Kabbaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grigory Rasputin, Holy Man or Monk was published by the series “The Wicked History”. Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin was born in January 21, 1869 in Russia and was assassinated in December 30, 1916. Her daughter claims that meteor fell when his father was born, in Serbia. Rasputin was a Russian peasant and a noble friend to the tsar family. Furthermore, it is said that Rasputin was one of the causes to the fall of the Russian monarchy and Russia’s depression during World War I. Since Rasputin lived in Serbia, life was hard, most villagers were farmers and many died at night, freezing to death. Efim, his father moved to Serbia to get away from the law, and generations of his family came with him. Most villagers, even his own mother, described Rasputin as strange, since he always looked up to the sky. Dimitri, his brother, and Rasputin did not go to school but farmed instead. One summer day, Rasputin and Gregory went down the Tura River to swim, the two boys almost drowned until a farmer saved their lives, before one ended. Rasputin was strong and survived the cold nights, but his brother, on the other hand, died of pneumonia when he was ten. Since Rasputin lost his best friend and brother, he acted more strangely than before. As an act of being strange, he was usually quite but other days he would speak loudly or go for a walk in the walk for hours. Years after his brother died, rumors started to spread about Gregory, some even came out of the mouth of the members of his own family. “They said that the boy had strange talents. He could find lost objects. He could tell when a stranger was about to arrive. He knew when someone would die…”(Goldberg & Itzkowitz. 23) Most of these rumors started to be true around one day at lunchtime. His father mentioned that one of his horses was hurt; Grigory then went to the barn and put his hands on the horse as he looked at the ceiling for a few moments. According to his father, the horse was then healed. After the incident, the villagers came with health problems, so the Rasputin could heal them. Most of these stories were written after his death, so no one knows if they are true, although Rasputin had one talent that is surely true. He was able to make people believe in him, and this talent gave him power over thousands of people. Rasputin was very religious and went to church every Sunday, although he caused a lot of trouble as a teenager, he was always drunk on Vodka. “I was unsatisfied. I couldn’t find the answers to many things, I was sad and took to drinking.” (Goldberg & Itzkowitz. 30) Later in his life, Gregory decided to visit a monastery but no one knows exactly why, but rumors say he wanted to live a holy life, but the villagers didn’t believe him because of his horrible attitude. In conclusion, Rasputin was a trusted friend from the Tsar family, as well as a mystical healer and a peasant, that came from Serbia, but he was one of the reasons of the downfall of the Russian monarchy.


At his young age, Rasputin was nice to people and could “heal” there injuries. Although, in his teenage years, he was very brutal and violent, because his brother died. When he was fifteen years of age, his father usually sent him to sell his crops. When he returned, he would usually be drunk. Furthermore, one day Rasputin returned to his home empty handed and drunk. He said he was robbed, but others think he sold all his crops to buy more Vodka. As one can see, rumors say that he used to sexually abuse women and get beat up by their fathers. As he grew up, he presumably said that he was sad and was disturbed because he couldn’t find the answers to most of his questions, but no one believed him as he had a terrible reputation. Even though Grigory was irresponsible, he grew up being a responsible and married man. Although, many wonder why he was so well known throughout the world. Rasputin helped the tsar Nicolas' son, Aleksei, with his disease, hemophilia. Furthermore, he helped the tsar with various problems in the country, he was a great friend and a counselor to the tsar family, but was later assassinated by noblemen. However, he is famed because of his ability to not die as fast, even though a lot of high-class nobles wanted his head. As one can see, before his death he survived as a mentally disabled woman stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. Nevertheless, his story is very brief and not all of it is for sure true, most people say that his story was a rumor. Most people would ask various reasons if he was still alive, for example: Could he really mystically heal people without modern medicine? This question plays a very important role in his story because his story was originally based on the purposed that he could “magically” heal people. Another question would be: Did he really survive the stabbing of the mentally disabled lady? As this question determines if his “powers” were true. If he was really able to survive the stabbing, then he could possibly mystically heal villagers. Conclusively, Rasputin was not very responsible as a teenager but then became very important in Russian history, while his story is maybe not true, as some of it is not accurately proven.


I recommend this biography to anyone fond of Russian history as Grigory Rasputin plays a major role in it. Furthermore, I recommend this biography to middle and high school student because it was easy to understand but some content may be too violent to some middle school students. As on can see, this biography accurately describes Rasputin and Russia during his time, so I would also recommend this to history teachers that are teaching about Russian history. Although, before reading this book, the reader must have a minimum knowledge of Russia in the 1800s or else the reader wouldn’t understand the biography as well. Furthermore, the book is short but gives a lot of detail. So, it may be hard to follow and remember all the details so I recommend this book to middle school students. There are a lot of illustrations and maps throughout the story to help the readers picture an image in their heads.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my eye at the middle school library where I was doing a talk about summer reading. I have an old story that involves Rasputin, and so I started reading it while I was waiting for the classes to come into the library. I got about halfway through, then had to leave it and order it through my own library. Rasputin is quite the interesting fellow, and this book leaves the question open as to whether Rasputin could actually foresee the future or if he was basically a con man who wanted power. I had expected something about the legend of Anastasia but this book neatly avoids that. It also avoids any of the conspiracy theories about his death and sticks to the facts, which on the one hand I liked as it made it all simpler, but on the other hand, all the mystery was what made Rasputin so well-known. Still, this was a good introduction to Rasputin as well as to Russian history and the beginnings of World War I.

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an okay book for its story but it wasn´t what I thought it was. That is okay because of its story and how the main character went from a criminal to a saint that the church loved. I believe that it shows a moral that the more power that you have the more people want to bring you down. But on the other hand, it wasn´t the best because it was mainly only on one person and the other characters just kinda moved with him. In chapter 16 there was a part that he had to come back to Russia for no reason other than that some higher up´s daughter was sick so he came to help her but it was just a trick to make him look bad in front of the church. there are small little things that I want to pick at but other ways it is a good find and a good informational book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second one in this series I have read. I think this is for younger readers, but I liked I got a lot of good information in a short book. I learned more about him than the little I knew before,especially about the influence he had over the royal family, I would like to read more about that as well.

[Jennifer Triplett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a few of the Wicked History to see if they are appropriate for Tessa, since she has developed an interest in history. I might wait a couple years before giving her this one, since there are allusions to sex and a picture of dead Rasputin, but it's otherwise a great concise history of his life.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was good and it had all the detail that I needed. It really was a great resource to use. None the less Grigory Rasputin was a wicked person and the biography definitely showed it. A good book for a project.

[Tegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still learned some things in this I didn't learn in The Family Romanov. Rasputin was a creep. These are such informative, quick books. I have to read them all! Read for grad school.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography is actually a great introduction to World War I as well as a series of warnings for young people to exercise discernment and recognize power hungry manipulators.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dude is probably manipulative because of the trauma he had as a child. I wonder if these powers are real, or if the people who have seen him perform magic were victims of this man. Who knows?

[Stasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I knew quite a bit about Rasputin. I did NOT know that women used to clip his fingernails and then sew the nails onto their dresses.. and so. You are welcome for this conversation topic. 👍

[Jessica Wilhoite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rasputin definitely had some character flaws, but was he truly wicked? I don't think so, I think he became filled with pride and that was his downfall.

[Codepoetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short and very easy-to-read history book provides a very quick overview of Rasputin's controversial life.

[Christopher Ramsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting life he had. To be born poor and yet turn his fortunes around, is an amazing tale of perseverance!

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

You've heard the name, and associated it with deviousness and evil. This is is a well written life story about a man of mystery, credited with bringing down the Romanov Dynasty.

Siberia...a frozen land but inhabited by only the hearty. Moscow sent trainloads of prisoners there because the land was so harsh. What I learned was Siberia was where anyone went who was in trouble with Russian government. Efrim and Anna Rasputin made a living there, raising their two sons. Dimitri was the oldest and Grigory was younger. Besides being the elder, Dimitri was the best friend and playmate of Grigory. While Moscow and St Petersburg advanced with the modern advances of electricity and indoor plumbing, those who resided in Siberia lived peasant lives. Anna feared Grigory was "not right in the head" because of his quietness and lack of speech. This increased dramatically when Dimitri and Grigory were swimming and the current swept Dimitri away.

Religion was a big part of peasant life. Sundays saw many many families in horse drawn wagons travelling miles and miles to get to church. As Grigory grew, he had brushes with law and drunkeness. He eventually married and had three children.

His role of fatherhood became lacking, and he ventured to a monastery where he was educated to be a monk. When he returned to his village, he became a healer of sick children and animals. He developed a reputation for having the hand of God in his cures. About this time, he had an acquaintance urge him to go to St Petersburg.
Once there, he developed an eye for pretty ladies and a taste for alcohol. His peasant appearance endeared him to the society because Russia was working on the beginnings of a revolution. At this point in history, there were two classes, very rich and very poor. Even the rich were discontent with the monarchy. In St. Petersburg, he survived poisoning and gunshots. Here, he was either loved or despised. When he became part of the inner circle of the Romonovs, his enemies grew.

The Tsar and Tsarina had 5 children. The youngest, a son, Alexis, in line for inheiritance, had hemophilia. This is now called the "royal disease," because it affected so many young princes.
What I learned, was Queen Victoria was the carrier. Tsarina Alexandra was her grandaughter. Only the male children were affected. Since marriages were mostly arranged for political purposes, princesses who carried the gene married into most of the countries of Europe and Asia.

By 1916, Russians were fed up with their leaders. Workers went on strike, soldiers deserted, the poor stole horses from the rich. WWI was erupting and the Tsar was an ineffective leader. Rasputin and the German born Tsarina were ruling Russia and the Duma leaders were plotting ways to assassinate. Rasputin was invited to a tea, shot as he prayed. Half an hour later, when the purpotrators went to get his body, he jumped up and tried to strangle his attacker. He was shot twice more and his body wrestled into the trunk of a car where it was dumped in the freeezing Neva River.

An autopsy revealed water in his lungs. He had been alive when he hit the water.

[Maesa Waheed · Rating 5 out of 5]

September, 28, 2014
Rasputin had a brother named Dimitri who died of a sickness. After his death he began to get a different attitude. In the village the farmers told that he could talk with animals. Even Rasputin’s father thought he had a special talent, since he healed a horse just by touching his injured leg. After he has healed the horse he talked to him. The farmers also thought that he was able to read the minds of the other persons. The people think that one day that talent would give him power over many thousands of lives.

Rasputin thought that god has given him the powers and that it was to help him in lie. The rulers of Russia believed his telling since a lot of people saw him using his power. As Rasputin was in the church he told that he first saw god when he was 14. Rasputin went to monastery in Verkhoturye, but nobody knew if it was to live a life as a holy man or to escape the law. As a young man Rasputin was religious, but he was also a troublemaker. In st. Petersburg Rasputin met two holy men which were very important.

October, 10, 2014
people in Rasputin's village that he was very strange. Everyone thought that he had some special power's, like being able to heal animals or people. "Farmers with bad backs wanted Grigory to heal them" (Goldberg, Itzkowitz 23). as a farmers horse has been stolen Rasputin was able to find the steelier. "They found the missing horse in his barn-just as Grigory had predicted"(Goldberg, Itzkowitz 24). To resume Rasputin had mysterious magical power.

There are a lot of rumors about Rasputin in St. Petersburg. Feofan heard stories about Rasputin doing very bad things with woman. "Rasputin took women to bathhouses"(Goldberg, Itzkowitz 85). Rasputin has done some very bad things, since he had as much power and he went crazy."The paper printed a letter from a woman who said that Rasputin had seduced her"(Goldberg, Itzkowitz 85). in other words the power had made Rasputin do crazy things.

Rasputin's death was as strange as his life itself. It was very hard for Yusupov to kill Rasputin."He survived Yusupov's poisoned cakes and wine"(Goldberg, Itzkowitz 117). At the end he shut him with three balls, but there was a little problem when they did the autopsy when they found the body."Later, an autopsy revealed that there was water in Rasputin's lungs. He had still been breathing when he was thrown into the Neva"(Goldberg, Itzkowitz 118). To resume the moments before he died Rasputin seemed to be immortal.

[Frank Karioris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the Stalin one. Clear, but with less interesting details.

[Seung Min Baek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friday, November 14, 2014

Rasputin is described to be a strange and abnormal man. First of all, people believed that he was protected by the forces of evil. This was because he was able to get away with the poisoned cake and wine. It states, "In the cellar, Yusupov offered his guest two cakes. Rasputin ate. Then he drank the poisoned wine. Yusupov waited. But Rasputin seemed only to relax (Goldberg 12). Secondly, people question his identity and his surroundings. They try to analyze, "A prince plans a murder. A holy man can't wait to visit a beautiful woman. Rasputin's friends would do anything for him. His enemies would do anything to get rid of him" (Goldberg 13). Thus, Rasputin is portrayed as an unusual character.

The book explains a major experience of Grigory Rasputin. Initially, Grigory and his older brother, Dimitri, went for a swim in the river. Dimitri slipped into the water, so Grigory jumped in to save his brother. It was written, "Grigory raced to his brother and tried to pull him out. Instead, his brother pulled him into the river. Then the current carried them both down the river" (Goldberg 20). Subsequently, they get rescued by a villager, but Dimitri got pneumonia and ended up dying. This had affected Grigory; "Grigory had lost his closest friend. He began acting more strangely than before" (Goldberg 21). Therefore, Grigory scarred by death at a very young age.

The settings are specified for Rasputin. Primarily, he came from Pokrovskoye, a small town in Siberia, and the nearest doctor lived 70 miles away from it. "Grigory Rasputin was born in Siberia, a cold land that fills a huge part of northeastern Russia" (Goldberg 16). Secondly, it is predicted that he was born in 1869. In this period of time, no tsar, or king, ever existed in Siberia. Hence, the time and place related to Rasputin are well explained to the readers.

[Randall Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are really good for younger students to learn some interesting facts about the lives of some of histories most influential people. They may have been wicked, but all of them definitly had some historical significance, or else we wouldn't need to know about them. This book put enough intrigue about this enigmatic man, without going into great detail about the things he would actually do. There were some things insinuated, but not directly stated. It mentioned him "seducing" women and "taking them to bed", but nothing more that would require a banning from middle school students. I enjoy this series, and have read quite a few of them. I also have a few more to read about others I find interesting. Rasputin is simply fascinating and I think this book would get the younger people of today interested in learning more about him after reading this excellent book. It has actual pictures and illustrations from when he was alive, and explains his death in a way that is both mysterious and intriguing. I read it in less than 90 minutes, so quick read too.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so the Goodreads description is not the best. However, this quick book is great for reluctant readers. Not only is it short, but it has plenty of pictures and an interesting story - so the book goes by fast! I learned about Rasputin in elementary school, but in college, I found out how interesting he really was. Also, I saw a picture. Overall, he was creepy. Have you ever seen his picture? CREEPY. Additionally, he was impossible to kill! Seriously. Read about it! If not in this book, somewhere. He truly makes me wonder if the supernatural is real because of his strange life. I don’t understand.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series will draw in readers with its dark humor and factual information. It makes good use of graphic images and maps to help tell the story. The information is good, and should be enough for middle schoolers. The author presents the facts, allowing the readers to decide if the person was wicked or not. Also helpful is the index, glossary, list of sources and suggestion for further reading.

It held my attention well and I am looking forward to reading the other titles in this series.

[Megan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a social studies class. It begs the question, "What is good? What is evil?" I could definitely see myself using it for an in-class discussion or a mock debate. Besides that, there's a lot of good information and a list of books and websites for further research if the reader is interesting. Not necessarily the most difficult non-fiction ever, but a good resource nonetheless.

4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series! There are way too many interesting people out there to read big books on all of them but these are perfect!!! Quite the fascinating life.

[Olenka Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a kid. I loved it then and so I decided to read it now (24). Although is is geared toward a younger audience, I found it to be informative, entertaining, and still relevant.

It has a timeline, glossary, references, and index in the back which I feel is beneficial to children.

I originally got this book from the Scholastic book orders at school. The fact that I had chosen to keep it throughout the years, through several moves, and many book donations, speaks for itself.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted more meat about Rasputin. The most interesting part was the photography, because Rasputin is recent enough that they HAVE decent pictures of him. He's so creepy, and I still don't understand how he seduced all of those women into admiring and loving him. A decent read, but not quite what I hoped for for middle school students.