The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin

by Alex de Jonge and Alex Dejonge

Book Overview

First printing in near fine condition. Dust jacket is heavily tanned at the edges and on the reverse side. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0880291508
• Release Date: June 1990
• Publisher: Dorset Pr
• Length: 289 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"The Not-So-Mad-Monk"

Alex deJonge's "The Life And Times Of Grigorii Rasputin" presents a portrait of Rasputin "The Mad Monk" in a language which is never dull or pedantically dry. After reading this book, one can almost imagine that he has met Rasputin at one time or another . . . that you do know him (in so far as this man was knowable at all). So much of the information that is "popular" concerning Rasputin has its origins in the "anti Czarist" crowd . . . either those who were "more royal thanm the Royals themsleves" or from the revolutionary engineers who wanted to use Rasputin to smear the Czar and his family in order to weakin public support for the reverence of the "Little Holy Father" so as to make the revolution gain greater acceptance in the hearts and minds of the populace. So, accurate and factual information about Rasputin has never been easy to obtain or claim. There has usually been a hidden interest or agenda behind the depiction of this "mystery of history". But here, deJonge presents a picture of Rasputin which covers all bases. One can make up his/her own mnd as to what and who Rasputin was. But he does present a spiritual aspect to Rasputin which has often been downplayed or dismissed outright. You can feel that, whatever his character flaws were, Rasputin did have faith . . . and a powerful faith at that. Jesus said, "if you have the faith as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain to move . . .and it will move." . . .well, Rasputin did move mountains . . . his prayers were responsible for the healings of more than one individual, the Carevich being the most notable . . . and more than once. It wasn't his "letchery" that attracted the admiration of so many intelligent followers and devotees . . . This book is a worthwhile read . . . it entertains and sheds light on a mythic mystic figure . . . and perhaps shows a litle light on our own times and on ourselves a bit as well.

The "mad Monk" who wasn't mad or a monk

I saw this author Alex de Jonge in a television biography of Rasputin. He seems to have a creepy sense of humor which I found hilarious as he said that after Yusupov shot Rasputin and went down to examine the body, suddenly Rasputin opened his eyes and said: "you've been a very naughty boy" or something like that hahaha.All joking aside though, I don't understand the criticisms levelled against this book as being boring. I actually found it to be interesting and informative. The focus is on Rasputin from the beginning of his life to its bitter end, and considerable text also talks about other people who were associated with Rasputin or the Romanovs. That didn't bother me. Throughout there are also some rare and intriguing facts, like Rasputin's ties to the notorious Khlysty sect, an unorthodox religious group which enjoyed night-time orgies out in the fields or farmhouse basements as a form of worship. An enlightening read about one of history's most strange and mysterious figures. David Rehakauthor of "Love and Madness"

Admirable historian

This was the first book of de Jonge's I read. I was so amazed by his method of doing history that I read the book twice. Since then I've read every book of his I could find and, happily, his historiography is consistent in all his writing. What I admire about his method is his balance and his ability to show the various facets of a complex subject without engaging in polemic and yet making his view of the issue quite clear. It is his personalist mode of historiography that I admire. The conclusion I drew from Rasputin is that he seems to have had some sort of inexplicable power, but for the most part he was a typical Russian peasant from Siberia whose strange religious practices were not that much different from the Oneida community of 19th century New York. Neither a saint nor a sinner, but a shrewd, cunning, uneducated peasant who really did know the peasant mind about Russia and took advantage of the opportunities before him. That seems to me to be the best explanation of a difficult figure of history.

The best way to form your own oppinion on the"mad monk"

"Contradictions, what of them, for you they are contradictions, but I am me, Grigorii Rasputin, and that's what matters: look at me, see what I have become!"(De Jonge 124). This one statement made by Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin is the window to his soul. Every part of his complex personality is exposed in it, but it takes the 350 page book by Alex De Jonge to realize it. "The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin" is an in depth and well researched biography not only on "the mad monk" but also on all of the lives that he touched. Through this book one can successfully throw away the many Russian rumors that have become Rasputins's legacy to formulate a better objective view of what is closer to the truth. De Jonge is not forceful with his own opinion; he is more like a tour guide who presents all the information and then allows the "tourist" to believe what he likes.