An arresting piece of popular history. ―Sean Wilentz; The New York Times Book ReviewNicholas Lemann opens this extraordinary book with a riveting account of the horrific events of Easter 1873 in Colfax; Louisiana; where a white militia of Confederate veterans-turned-vigilantes attacked the black community there and massacred hundreds of people in a gruesome killing spree. This began an insurgency that changed the course of American history: for the next few years white Southern Democrats waged a campaign of political terrorism aiming to overturn the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and challenge President Grant's support for the emergent structures of black political power. Redemption is the first book to describe in uncompromising detail this organized racial violence; which reached its apogee in Mississippi in 1875.
#38247 in Books Douglas Smith 2016-11-22 2016-11-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 236.98 x 1.90 x 6.31l; .0 #File Name: 0374240841848 pagesRasputin Faith Power and the Twilight of the Romanovs
Review
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful. ''Rasputin’s story is a tragedy - and in his bloody; violent end; we can discern the story of Russia in the twentieth century.''By Clay GarnerSmith presents a detailed; day-to-day explanation of Rasputin. However; this work is more than just a description of Rasputin's life. Smith covers various aspects of prewar Russian culture. Analyses the Romanov family; the Orthodox clergy; the peasant reaction; the Russian aristocracy; the fascination with the occult; all by Rasputin's life.From introduction - ''Rasputin’s story is a tragedy; and not just that of one man but of an entire nation; for in his life—with its complicated struggles about faith and morality; about pleasure and sin; about tradition and change; about duty and power; and their limits—and in his bloody; violent end; we can discern the story of Russia itself in the early twentieth century. Rasputin was neither a devil nor a saint; but this made him no less remarkable and his life no less important to the twilight of tsarist Russia.''Introduction: The Holy Devil?Part One HOLY PILGRIM: 1869–1904Part Two OUR FRIEND: 1905–1909Part Three SCANDELS; 1909-1911Part Four A Time OF MIRACLES 1912-1914Part Five WAR 1914-1915Part Six THE FINAL YEAR 1916Part Seven THE AFTERMATH 1917-1918EpilogueSmith explains Rasputin's beginning as a holy man - ''Stranniki ; holy wanderers or religious pilgrims; were a common sight in old Russia. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the idea of undertaking pilgrimages to holy places was widespread; among the rich and poor. If the rich could afford to travel by carriage; the poor had to make do with their own two feet; a knapsack in their hands. Wandering from village to village; the pilgrims relied on the generosity of strangers for food and a place to stay for the night.'' (22) This insight helped me understand Rasputin's role was a common one; not unique to him. He just played it better than others. ''Often; however; they went hungry and slept out under the stars. They dressed in little more than rags and were typically barefoot. Many wore fetters. It was not an easy life. In 1900; there were about a million pilgrims in Russia; forever wandering from one holy place to the next in search of salvation and enlightenment. As they went the pilgrims would repeat the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ; Son of God; have mercy on me; a sinner.†(22) Wow; a million!This drive to mysticism; to the occult; to extremes; added real insight to the Russian mind. It provided a way to understand Rasputin's influence. (and maybe Lenin)Smith explains - ''I knew from the beginning that the only chance I had to get closer to the true Rasputin was to go back to the archives; to seek out the documents created during his lifetime before the myth of Rasputin had fully taken shape. It proved an unusually arduous undertaking. The trail led me to seven countries; from Siberia and Russia; across Europe; to Britain; and finally the United States. The first obligation of every biog-rapher is to establish the objective; external facts of a life; something that has been lacking in our knowledge of Rasputin. And so I sought every bit of information that could place Rasputin squarely in his world: where he was on any given day; what he was doing; whom he met; what they discussed. I wanted to track Rasputin through time; to drag him out of the ether of myth and down into the banalities of daily life.''Smith has done this here. In fact; he provides so much detail on the "banalities of life' that many pages are just that - banal. ''This; it seemed to me; was the only way to extricate Rasputin the man from Rasputin the legend. A curious thing happened; however; as I was following the footsteps of this elusive; real Rasputin. The deeper I went into my research; the more convinced I became that one of the most important facts about Rasputin; the thing that made him such an extraordinary and powerful figure; was less what he was doing and more what everyone thought he was doing.''The extensive research is astounding. Many times I puzzle; 'How can he know that?' Hundreds of players are described and quoted. Various explanations are offered for events. Who can know for sure? The amount of gossip and slander is overwhelming. Who can absorb it?This work could serve as a textbook in Russian history. Does not read like a novel; perhaps closer to a court document. Was Rasputin holy man; a devil; or a holy devil?One hundred two black-and-white photographs. No index in kindle edition. Print edition contains index.At least six hundred sources are listed in back. Around one thousand footnotes. Tremendous work.32 of 33 people found the following review helpful. Turning Russian history into an accessible page-turner is no easy feat!By Angela EllisHaving known little about Rasputin and even less about the times in which he lived; I was a little concerned that this incredibly thorough telling of his life would be more of an academic read than I was looking for. But I was pleasantly surprised to find a page turner that weaves a riveting tale of an intriguing; scandalous and mysterious man to rival any of the historical FICTION novels I favor. Besides the fact that Rasputin's life is filled with (many unfounded and often slanderous) stories of tabloid-worthy debauchery; the way his life is given context in the waning world of the Romanovs is equally fascinating. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written; accessible and interesting book.36 of 38 people found the following review helpful. A well-researched and written look at a controversial historical figure.By Nick NicholsonA wonderful and well-written history of a complicated and enigmatic historical figure. Refusing to repeat the same narratives promoted by discounted sources; Smith examines new Russian sources and unexamined documents to form a fuller and more complex portrait of Grigorii Rasputin-Novy.Smith breaks the life of his subject down into independent relationships and events. Rasputin and Nicholas Alexandra; Rasputin and his family; Rasputin and his village; Rasputin and Anna Vyrubova. Also; he treats Rasputin's role in events such as the revolution of 1905; WWI; the Sukhokomlinov affair; individually.With such a mercurial and misrepresented character; and one upon whom many people have projected feelings and interpretations; it allows the reader to see for themselves the consistent characterizations: that he was utterly sincere; charismatic; loving; and deeply loving; but neither evil nor political in the way he has been characterized.What it truly reveals is the odious rot at the fringes of the Imperial family as well as in pre-revolutionary Russian society in general. Heartbreaking -- heartbreaking and familiar.
