Peter the Great: His Life and World

this was one of those books I'd read many years before, and found it to be wonderfully interesting, and got me started liking history in general. Peter was such an intriguing character - and I was glad to see it offered in audible form. It is, however quite detailed, and if you are not interested in how military battles commence, then maybe this is not for you. I do recommend it however, for its insight into not just Peter, but Russian life at the time.

This is a very good book. It covers a critically important topic in history that is often neglected, and does it in good detail with great prose. One thing in particular I liked about it was that on several occasions it discusses some other events going on in Europe at the time, and is thus even more informative than it would be otherwise.

Mr. Massie's book is very engaging and flows with an easy narrative. The scenes and people are very well described, giving the reader a rich visual and psychological picture of Peter the Great's Russia. He does a great job of detailing not only great events but also such things as interior and exterior architecture, hairstyles, crime statistics, the different materials shoes were made of, what contemporary maps looked like, food eaten by peasants and at court, and etc. He also does great service to describing the situation of women in general but also the specific details of women whose lives came to bear on the story of Peter and current events. The many characters and parties are easy to keep track of, and all in all this book is a clear picture of the life and times of Peter the Great. The narration was clear and engaging - though I find that British accents can be sometimes hard to understand, I had no such problem with this audiobook. I would recommend this for any person, not only Russophiles or history buffs.

This audio version of a fantastic book is perfect. The narrator is grand, capable of pronouncing russian names without a problem, and keeping the right rythm, not reading to slow or to quickly.
The book is written, grouping the events and actions surrounding certain persons or places, or stages and attitudes of Peter's life, into chapters. It does not progress chronologically from event to event, be they unrelated, that the reader would soon feel themselves asking "who is he? and how does he relate?" It is excellently structured, it reads well. I give it a top notch rating.

The reading was so poor I could not finish- Big disappointment.

I will make a point to never purchase another book with this narrator

lispy, robotic, hard to understand, affected

disappointment for sure - was looking forward to a good snuggle down and listen but could not complete due to irritating voice

Very High.

The telling of the story and the telling the story of Peter the Great.

Peter.

I was great history presented as never presented in school.

This is an exhaustively researched and incredibly detailed look at Peter’s life, the influences on him, and the results of his actions. It is a well organized and well told story. Massie does a good job placing Peter’s life in the context of his times. He also begins several tantalizing discussions about the longer-term effects of Peter’s life, such as changes to balance of power calculations in Europe and, following Solzhenitsyn, the effects of the subordination of the Russian church to the government. Such discussions are fascinating, but not fully developed.

I take exception to the first reviewer's comments about the quality of the narration. I find Davidson's narration to be nuanced and enjoyable, and think it's a treat to experience Massie's thrilling biography as an audiobook. As I prepare for the publication of Massie's biography of Catherine the Great in the fall of 2011, it's a true pleasure to reencounter this classic work of biography/history as read by this accomplished narrator.

Pretty good read. Great story to tell and it's well written and well narrated. Peter was great.

I have been an Audible customer for many years. This is the first book for which I have wanted my money back. The narrator, who I'm sure is a nice guy, does not speak American English and I am tired of trying to figure out what the heck he's saying. I lived in NYC for 30 years and have a good understanding of dialects. This book could be great, but you'd never know.

Anyone who speaks American English.

Frustration, frustration, then anger.

Do not buy this book.