No comments about T. R.: the Last Romantic (Unabridged Audio).

5 comments about Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael Ii, the Last of the Romanov Tsars.

1. This book is chock full of previously undisclosed details about the life of Michael, brother of Nicholas II, and his extended family -- which is something I appreciate very much. I enjoyed learning about Michael's upbringing; his life as a spoiled young officer, and his loves before he met Natasha, who he clung to as tenaciously as Edward VIII clung to Wallis Simpson...with somewhat the same results!
   
   Everything the reviewer, John Cofield, said is true: Michael and Natasha were probably very selfish, somewhat shallow people, and yet, there is something touching about their story, I think because they did love each other (even if that love went through some weird phases, given Natasha's need to flirt and be the apple of men's eyes). Their endings were tragic. Michael's assassination was vicious and was a real tragedy for Natasha, who ended up penniless and alone. However, in one respect, I have to fault Mr. Cofield: Michael was unable by temperament (alternatively spoiled; weak, pleasure-loving and prone to sudden falling in and out of love --not completely unlike his dead cousin, the Duke of Clarence) to ever provide consistent help to Nicholas II. Nor was he given the training or education to overcome these character flaws, which may have helped him improve himself. For that, the fault must lie with his indulgent parents, Alexander III and particularly Marie Fedorovna, who seems to have been a hopeless sort of mother...Anyway, as much as Nicholas could have used help with his burdens, his jealous and possessive wife Alexandra, would probably have prevented a closer relationship between the brothers even if there hadn't been the seductive Natasha to come between them. Nicholas was pretty much a damned figure from the word go, in any case. The more you read about the last Romanovs, the more you see that nothing went right for this man! He came to the throne too soon; he married the wrong woman, and he was stubbornly unable to change his view that autocracy was the only way for Russia.
   
   As for the quality of the writing in this book, I liked it very much, it really moves along and you get a real flavor for Imperial Russia and the characters of the Imperial Family. A very enjoyable reading experience, and recommended to all who like Russian Imperial history.



2. I have read several books on the Romanovs. This is one of the best so far. The story is heartbreaking. When the man you love is born with a job and expectations he's not allowed to have choice or freedom. What is worse is the rotten treatment and rejection he received from those who are supposed to love him. I would recommend this book highly.



3. I have read many books about the Romanov family over the years. Rosemary and Donald Crawford's "Michael and Natasha : The Life And Love Of Michael II, The Last Of The Romanov Tsars" is one of the best - certainly the most riveting. Although very well researched, documented and indexed, the book reads like a wonderful novel. It is an extraordinarily moving love story and gives the reader a bird's eye view into the lives of the Romanovs and the fall of their dynasty.
   
   Grand Duke Michael, was the dashing youngest brother of the last Tsar of Russia. The book chronicles Michael's early life, giving a detailed account of his relationship with his family. He became involved with Natalia, (or Natasha) Cheremetevskaya, a commoner, while he was serving in the imperial army. She was 26, quite beautiful, and captured Michael's heart during their first dance. Natasha was twice divorced and was widely dismissed as a scheming social climber. Michael's romantic courtship of Natasha, their extremely close relationship, morganatic marriage and banishment from Russia is all documented here, along with observations by friends, family and actual letters. There are also never-before-seen photographs. Apparently Grand Duchess Olga, Michael's sister, not only knew Natasha, but evidently was a friend. Some of the unusual photographs in the book document this friendship. After the couple married, Olga turned her back on them. When Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and abdicated for his young son, Michael was offered the throne, but he refused the opportunity to rule Russia because society and the Russian people would never have accepted his wife. There exists the possibility that if Michael had accepted the crown, there may have never been a Bolshevik Revolution.
   
   One of the most fascinating books on the period that I have read. It is a powerful and tragic story and I highly recommend it.
   JANA



4. I absolutely loved this book. Although the story is terribly tragic and sad in the end, this is the best love story I have ever read. Bravo to the Crawfords for writing this book because it's a story that needed and deserved to be written about. I too fell in love with Misha and Nastaha while reading the book and I cried at what happened to them in the end. They were doomed right from the start but it was all worth it, in my opinion. Even though this book has been out for almost seven years now, it amazes, and kind of saddens me that there is still little recognition and knowledge about these two extraodinary people. There definitely should be more. Nevermind the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Michael and Natasha were the real-life Romeo and Juliet and they paid a greater price for their love, and lives, then the Windsors did. It's kind of unfair too. Everyone knows about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, but what about Michael II and Nathalie Brasova? They gave up just as much in order to be together, were also banished and were just as disgraced and humiliated by society, maybe even more. And in my opinion, Michael and Natasha are much more intriguing and fascinating then David and Wallis. It was clear that the Duke of Windsor loved Wallis very much and was deeply in love with her, but her love for him didn't appear to equal to his and her loyalty to him was questionable. In Michael and Natasha's case, they both loved each other wholeheartedly, were madly in love with each other and were both very loyal to each other. They and their story deserves to be more recognized and noted in the world. If only I was a screenwriter, and knew how to go about writing the script for the story, so I could bring this fascinating story to the screen so then the whole world would finally know the love story of G.D Michael Aleksandrovich of Russia and Nathalie Brasova. Or at least know how to get a film company to produce such a film. Maybe it will one day, I hope. The middle part of the book however, when David Crawford took over, did get a bit boring, when the war and revolution started. But through and through, it was a compelling and fascinating story. The tragedy of the story though was that Michael and Natasha were the right people in the wrong place at the wrong time.



5. Michael and Natasha is a fascinating but deeply biased account of two nearly unknown members of the Romanov family. Granduke Michael (the actual final Tzar) and his mistress turned morganic bride Natasha. Giving us a glimpse into the life of the well-to-do in Edwardian Russia. The account of Michael's relationship with the Tzar certainly provides interesting insight into just how estranged the Tzar was from the rest of his family.

   The book also gives us a glimpse into the life of one of Rasputin's assassins and an intimate of Tzar Nicholas' family the Granduke Dimitry. Dimitry was apparently one of Natasha's admirers and frequently visited her family. In my opinion this book gives a far better account of his life and character along with his motivations to kill then any other I've read. It helps you to understand his relationship with the Tzar. The only other comparable account of his life are in the memoires of his sister Marie (Once a Granduchess, etc.,)

   My only annoyance with regard to this book was it's blatantly biased outlook. While well researched and very entertaining you get the feeling after a while that the authors fell almost as much in love with their book's real center piece (Natasha) as her husband Misha did. Anyone who didn't like or agree with Natasha is automatically branded a villain or a dullard.

   While certainly beautiful and interesting Natasha was also a combative personality, self-centered, vain, manipulative, a shabby mother. Yet all of these faults are excused by the authors who merely go on to gush about her beauty and charm. How any man alive would have died to have her! It got nauseating at times and kept me from giving the book the five stars it otherwise deserved.

   I'm afraid Natasha's charm eluded me in the midst of her many temper tantrums. I could never bring myself to sympathize with Natasha as I did with Michael. Nonetheless she was an interesting woman a deserved to be written about. Her one redeeming feature was her geniune (though not uninterested) love for the Granduke.

   The description of the life led by lesser known members of the Romanov family after the Bolshevik coup alone made it worth reading. A must have for all Romanov aficionados!

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No comments about The Legend of Sleep Hollow, the Minister's Black Veil, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (THE ONE HUNDRED GREATEST BOOKS, VOLUME 2) [ABRIDGED], VOLUME 18).

5 comments about The Heart of a Woman.

1. Maya has such an impeccable method of penning and conveying her prose!! This was a wonderful installment in her biographical sequence(s). I recommend this book to ALL (those mature and aged enough to handle the sometimes-explicit subject matter) because it brings so many pieces of American history together in such a uniquely stated manner!



2. i was so excited to get this book. it arrived fast and was in good condition. thank you



3. Another slice of Maya Angleou's memoir, The Heart of a Woman, brings you through her hardships of raising her son Guy in California and continues during her move to New York City, her stint in the Harlem Writers guild, her intimate involvement in the Civil Rights movement, her marriage to South African Freedom Fighter, Vusumzi Make and subsequent move to Egypt, Ghana and ultimate divorce. A book that will speak to men and women on all levels, The Heart of a Woman is truly a phenomenal read.



4. I have just finished The Heart of a Woman and I could not put it down once I started it. Angelou lays bare for all of her readers her heart, her life and her truth. What an amazing life she has lived. I read some reviews that criticized her for her honesty in regards to whites during the 60s. It was the 60s, racial barriers where still up strong and bared anyone of color from living the lives they so richly deserved, why should she be criticized for this? Would it be better that she lied and said how wonderful life was for blacks in this country during that time? It wasn't and that is the point that she is making in this book. That is the point that she is making as an African American woman, called to the forefront in the battle of discrimination.
   I had to look on the cover to see when she wrote this book, it was 1981, how sad that in 26yrs we still see white America carrying the flag of superiority! I am truly glad that Angelou is still walking this earth to see that though the gains for civil rights are slow coming they are coming,regardless of what her criticizers are saying. Because if they are criticizing her for telling it like it was, then there is still a long path to journey to get us beyond the need for civil rights.
   If you want to know what the 60's Civil Rights movement & Aparthied in South Africa was about this book will give you an accurate picture of one womans involvement. Two thumbs up for Angelou!



5. The heart of a woman was not an easy read for me, i just couldn't get into it, it did not grab my attention.

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5 comments about You're Only As Good As Your Next One: Library Edition.

1. Published in 2002, much of this book deals with motion picture studio deals, players and practices dating back to the 1980s (when the author ran Orion).



2. Mike Medavoy's Bio is a very good educational book
   Dear Sirs:
   (...) I spend all my days after school and during the week-ends watching movies at home with my friends and our parents. We like, especially, all the Mike Medavoy's movies: Holes, Apocalypse Now, Rocky, Basic, Robocop, Cliffhanger, The 6th Day, Apt Pupil, The Thin Red Line, Terminator, Hook, Platoon... We like his movies because he is a producer with conscience. For these reasons I think that the Mike Medavoy's Bio is a very good educational book. This book really deserves to be distributed in all the Schools, Colleges and Universities of Cinema of the Country (Hey, teacher, thank you!).
   Plus I really think that Mr. Medavoy is a Good Man, a Good Son, a Good Father and a Good Friend. He never judge the other People (he just writes the history) and he is always helping a lot of great talents. He is an unique human being in Hollywood. Mike Medavoy knows how to do movies with an extraordinary talent and with great love.
   (...)



3. Dear Sirs:
   Since I was 11 years old I like read "Variety" and now that I'm 12 years old I spend all my days after school watching movies at home with my friends. We like, especially, all the Mike Medavoy's movies: Apocalypse Now, Rocky, Robocop, Cliffhanger, Terminator, Hook, Platoon... We like his movies because he is a producer with conscience. For these reasons I think that the Mike Medavoy's Bio is a very good educational book. This book really deserves to be distributed in all the Schools, Colleges and Universities of Cinema of the Country (Hey, teacher, thank you!).
   Plus I really think that Mr. Medavoy is a Good Man, a Good Son, a Good Father that loves fully and truly children and young people and a Good Friend. He never judge the other People (he just writes the history) and he is always helping a lot of great talents. He is an unique human being in Hollywood. Mike Medavoy knows how to do movies with an extraordinary talent and with great love.
   From Joe Miller Jr., Philadelphia



4. Dear Sirs:
   Since I was 11 years old I like read "Variety" and now that I'm 12 years old I spend all my days after school watching movies at home with my friends. We like, especially, all the Mike Medavoy's movies: Apocalypse Now, Rocky, Robocop, Cliffhanger, Terminator, Hook, Platoon... We like his movies because he is a producer with conscience. For these reasons I think that the Mike Medavoy's Bio is a very good educational book. This book really deserves to be distributed in all the Schools, Colleges and Universities of Cinema of the Country (Hey, teacher, thank you!).
   Plus I really think that Mr. Medavoy is a Good Man, a Good Son, a Good Father that loves fully and truly children and young people and a Good Friend. He never judge the other People (he just writes the history) and he is always helping a lot of great talents. He is an unique human being in Hollywood. Mike Medavoy knows how to do movies with an extraordinary talent and with great love.
   From Joe Miller Jr., Philadelphia



5. Dear Sirs:
   Since I was 11 years old I like read "Variety" and now that I'm 12 years old I spend all my days after school watching movies at home with my friends. We like, especially, all the Mike Medavoy's movies: Apocalypse Now, Rocky, Robocop, Cliffhanger, Terminator, Hook, Platoon... We like his movies because he is a producer with conscience. For these reasons I think that the Mike Medavoy's Bio is a very good educational book. This book really deserves to be distributed in all the Schools, Colleges and Universities of Cinema of the Country (Hey, teacher, thank you!).
   Plus I really think that Mr. Medavoy is a Good Man, a Good Son, a Good Father that loves fully and truly children and young people and a Good Friend. He never judge the other People (he just writes the history) and he is always helping a lot of great talents. He is an unique human being in Hollywood. Mike Medavoy knows how to do movies with an extraordinary talent and with great love.
   From Joe Miller Jr., Philadelphia

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