Pulitzer Prize Biography Winner
Peter the Great: His Life and World
by Robert K. Massie
Summary
Robert K. Massie presents the towering Russian tsar Peter the Great, who dragged his country toward Europe through war, reform, and sheer will. The book details his travels in disguise across the West, his founding of Saint Petersburg, and his long struggle with Sweden for control of the Baltic. Massie writes sweeping narrative history that places one ruler at the center of a transforming empire.
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Historical Context & Significance
Massie's fascination with Russian history began with his earlier book Nicholas and Alexandra, written after his son was diagnosed with hemophilia, the disease that afflicted the last tsar's heir.