Fiction could not be more compelling than this tragic and haunting account of the last Tsar and Tsarista of Russia. Their love for each other was so beautiful! The book reprints actual letters written to each other, journal entries, etc. - and reading their own words is so authentic and moving. Alexandra writes to Nicholas a little note for him to find just after their engagement, "I dreamed that I was loved, I woke and found it true and thanked God on my knees for it. True love is the gift which God has given, daily, stronger, deeper, fuller, purer." But when their love for each other and their children blinds them to political realities and the fascinatingly evil Rasputin gains hold over them, it is heart-wrenching to watch an entire Empire fall apart. Politically and historically enthralling as well - particularly WWI and the world political atmosphere that ended the Tsar's family's life in tragedy - at times I was so angry and frustrated at it all. I couldn't help projecting modern world politics and realizing how much miscommunication and misunderstanding results in disaster - how much popular opinion, right or wrong, can influence events beyond the public's understanding and have consequences that may even be completely opposite of the morals behind those opinions. I have a love-hate relationship with this book, because I love the knowledge it gives me of people, places, and events, I love the rich love story and the strong family bonds, but the overarching tragedy of the whole timeline and all the things that could be changed just a little, all the mistakes made, all the slow crumbling that lead to Communism's rule are agonizing to read about. Beautiful history, well written.