From Publishers Weekly
A recounting of recent controversies in Russia over the burial of the remains of the last imperial family, killed during the Communist revolution. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
The fate of the last Russian Czar and his family has been one of the most fascinating mysteries of this century. Massie's work presents, not only the last days and ultimate fate of the Romanovs, but also the political and academic bickering over their remains. There's also a long section on the false Anastasia, the late Anna Anderson. O'Keefe's reading is very well done. His training and experience as an opera singer give him excellent diction and enunciation. He keeps the listener's attention with his pacing and inflection, making an already fascinating tale even more so. Especially poignant is his reading of the last days of the imperial family. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
When Robert Massie wrote Nicholas and Alexandra in 1967, he could never have dreamt that, in his lifetime, there would be answers to the many questions surrounding the deaths of the Romanovs. But with the fall of the Soviet government and the help of modern medical technology, such as DNA matching, that final chapter is now able to be written. Unfortunately, as with so many things, the mystery of the unresolved questions holds more fascination than the reality of the definitive answers. Not that there isn't plenty of new news here. Massie answers several big questions: how the Romanovs died and how their bodies were eventually identified; whether the woman known as Anna Anderson was in fact the grand duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of the czar; and who, among several pretenders, would inherit the throne if the Russian people decide to restore the monarchy. The discussion of this last topic is particularly arcane, full of the knotted strings of Romanovs that only the most dedicated royalist or an editor at Burke's Peerage would want to untangle. More interesting is the trail of bones unearthed at Ekaterinburg and how, using blood samples from Prince Philip of England (a cousin of the Romanovs) and others, identifications were finally made. Similar DNA tests were used to prove that Anna Anderson was not Anastasia but was in fact a Polish peasant. How she managed to pull off such a successful charade for so many years is one mystery that remains unsolved. Despite the book's regrettable dryness, the inquiring minds of royalty watchers will ensure demand. Ilene Cooper


Book Description
"MASTERFUL."
--The Washington Post Book World
"RIVETING . . . UNFOLDS LIKE A DETECTIVE STORY."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
In July 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow mass grave near Ekaterinburg, Siberia, a few miles from the infamous cellar room where the last tsar and his family had been murdered seventy-three years before. But were these the bones of the Romanovs? And if these were their remains, where were the bones of the two younger Romanovs supposedly murdered with the rest of the family? Was Anna Anderson, celebrated for more than sixty years in newspapers, books, and film, really Grand Duchess Anastasia?
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter provides answers, describing in suspenseful detail the dramatic efforts in post-Communist Russia to discover the truth. This unique story, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie, presents a colorful panorama of contemporary characters, illuminating the major scientific dispute between Russian experts and a team of Americans, including Drs. William Maples and Michael Baden--fiercely antagonistic forensic experts whose findings, along with those of DNA scientists from Russia, America, and Great Britain, all contributed to solving one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century.
"AN ADMIRABLE SCIENTIFIC THRILLER."
--The New York Times Book Review
"COMPELLING . . . A FASCINATING ACCOUNT."
--Chicago Tribune
"A MASTERPIECE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING."
--San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle



From the Publisher
The lives of the Romanovs are utterly fascinating, and this book is the definitive authority on the scoop behind one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. If you can catch one of the travelling exhibits featuring the Romanov's jewels or their books, I'd recommend it, and read this book first-- you'll appreciate the exhibits even more.
--Stacey Witcraft, Advertising Manager


From the Inside Flap
"MASTERFUL."
--The Washington Post Book World
"RIVETING . . . UNFOLDS LIKE A DETECTIVE STORY."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
In July 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow mass grave near Ekaterinburg, Siberia, a few miles from the infamous cellar room where the last tsar and his family had been murdered seventy-three years before. But were these the bones of the Romanovs? And if these were their remains, where were the bones of the two younger Romanovs supposedly murdered with the rest of the family? Was Anna Anderson, celebrated for more than sixty years in newspapers, books, and film, really Grand Duchess Anastasia?
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter provides answers, describing in suspenseful detail the dramatic efforts in post-Communist Russia to discover the truth. This unique story, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie, presents a colorful panorama of contemporary characters, illuminating the major scientific dispute between Russian experts and a team of Americans, including Drs. William Maples and Michael Baden--fiercely antagonistic forensic experts whose findings, along with those of DNA scientists from Russia, America, and Great Britain, all contributed to solving one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century.
"AN ADMIRABLE SCIENTIFIC THRILLER."
--The New York Times Book Review
"COMPELLING . . . A FASCINATING ACCOUNT."
--Chicago Tribune
"A MASTERPIECE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING."
--San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In July 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow mass grave near Ekaterinburg, Siberia, a few miles from the infamous cellar room where the last tsar and his family had been murdered seventy-three years before. But were these the bones of the Romanovs? And if these were their remains - revealed finally after over seven decades - where were the bones of the two younger Romanovs supposedly murdered with the rest of the family? The Romanovs: The Final Chapter provides the answers, recounting the horrifying moments of slaughter, revealing the guilt of and the cover-up by Lenin and his lieutenants, and then describing in dramatic, suspenseful detail the fascinating and ultimately successful efforts in post-Communist Russia to discover the truth. This unique story, written almost as a detective thriller by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie, presents a colorful panorama of contemporary characters - beginning with two enterprising Russians who, against tremendous odds, finally found the secret burial place; documenting the key roles of U.S. secretary of state James Baker, Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and Great Britain's Prince Philip; and reporting the major scientific dispute between Russian experts and a team of Americans, including Drs. William Maples and Michael Baden - fiercely antagonistic forensic experts whose findings, along with those of DNA scientists from Russia, America, and Great Britain, all contributed to, and then resolved, the controversy.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In death as in life, the last imperial Romanovs cause controversy. Their bones remain in the Ekaterinburg morgue because of disagreements within the Russian bureaucracy, within the Russian Orthodox Church at home and abroad and among the Romanov descendants over burial sites, canonization and whether to inter with the family their servants who were murdered with them. The squabbling is unseemly, as Massie (Nicholas and Alexandra) shows vividly in his discerning book based on interviews and a close reading of the literature of the revolution. He recreates the slaughter of Alexandra, Nicholas and their children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Alexis, family physician Eugene Botkin, valet Trupp, maid Anna Demidova and cook Kharitonov on the night of July 16-17, 1918, at the Ipatiev House in the Siberian city of Ekaterinburg. For some 60 years, the whereabouts of their bodies remained a mystery, until a retired Siberian geologist and a Moscow filmmaker found four skulls that they kept secret until 1989, when glasnost made revelation possible. Then began the exploitation, which, as Massie relates the story, will leave readers astonished and angry: scientists who identified the bones criticized one another's expertise for questionable motives, and the cities of Ekaterinburg and Petersburg are still quarreling over custody of the remains and the Romanov descendants over the manner of burial. Although the bones of two of the royals have not been found-Alexis, and either Marie or Anastasia-the evidence Massie presents discredits the ``survivors'' of the Ekaterinburg massacre, primarily Anna Anderson, who, until her death in 1984, claimed to be Anastasia. The average Russian, at least according to Massie, may be indifferent to the bones, but readers of his account most certainly will not be. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to the New Yorker; BOMC featured selection. (Oct.)

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