LIBRARY NOTES
Robert K. Massie
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Temple Israel, 112 East 75th Street; $10 per person
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
Peter the Great,
Nicholas and Alexandra, and
The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most powerful and captivating women in history.
Fired by Enlightenment philosophy, Catherine contended for thirty-four years with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. Admired and reviled by observers both inside and outside Russia, she controlled the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and the people's welfare, dealing with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the unrest churned up by the French Revolution. Massie also brings to life Catherine's family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies, from her weak, bullying husband Peter to the giant figure of Gregory Potemkin. Massie's famous historical accuracy, depth of understanding, and felicity of style tell this monumental story like no other historian.
Robert K. Massie studied American history at Yale and European history at Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was president of the Authors Guild from 1987 to 1991. His previous books include
Nicholas and Alexandra,
Peter the Great: His Life and World (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize for biography),
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter,
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, and
Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea.
IN COOPERATION WITH WNET/THIRTEEN.
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