The patriot chiefs

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Edvard Radzinsky

The execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family at the hands of revolutionaries in 1918 is one of the pivotal events of the 20th century, an event that brought the 300-year rule of the House of Romanov to a brutal and tragic end and set the tone for the Stalinist atrocities that would follow. The truth behind these murders remained long buried under more than seventy years of myth, legend, and speculation. Then, in a sensational biography that could not have been written before glasnost, noted Russian historian Edvard Radzinsky unearthed solutions to many of the questions that had remained unanswered since the terrible events in Ekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918. Mining sources long unavailable -- including firsthand accounts of the slaying -- he creates both a fascinating portrait of the monarch and a minute-by-minute account of his terrifying last days. Included is documentation linking the order of execution directly to Lenin, as well as the suggestion that two family members may have survived the ordeal. Included, too, is the testimony of ordinary Russians who at last felt free to contribute their own recollections, documents, and handed-down secrets. Radzinsky weaves together scores of firsthand accounts into a haunting, epic narrative. The Last Tsar is an important and momentous work, one that will stand as the definitive account of the terrible last days of one of Europe's greatest dynasties. - Adapted from dust jacket.

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Lady Hong

These extraordinary memoirs paint a vivid picture of court life in Korea during the middle of the 18th century as the background to a royal family tragedy of epic proportions, as seen through the eyes of a remarkable woman. In these most compelling of palace chronicles Lady Hong tells of her introduction to court life, of her selection as a consort to the Crown Prince at the age of ten, and of her brief years of happiness that were eclipsed by a series of dark events culminating in the madness of her husband and his death at the hands of his father, King Yŏngjo. Written at the end of her life for the benefit of her son and grandson who became kings, Lady Hong’s absorbing and revealing memoirs combine historical authenticity with the artistry of fine literature. ‘…Extraordinary memoirs…(if they) were presented as a work of fiction one would be irresistibly reminded of Vladimir Nabokov’s master piece , ‘Pale of Fire’…’ Auberon Waugh, Sunday Telegraph ‘…a remarkable psychological drama…East Asian Oedipus in reverse…’ John Gittings, The Guardian ‘…heartfelt emotions explained with a striking frankness…a lively autobiographical account…’ Paul Ensor, Far Eastern Economic Review ‘…jewel of a book deserves to become a classic…outstanding as narrative, as drama, and as characterization…’ Aidan Foster-Carter, South

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Michael Burgan

"Chronicles the life of Edward S. Curtis and his 20-volume life's work, The North American Indian"--Provided by publisher.

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[by] Raymond W. Thorp, Robert Bunker

The true story of John Johnson, who in 1847 found his wife and her unborn child had been killed by Crow braves. Out of this tragedy came one of the most gripping feuds one man against a whole tribe in American history."