Last Days of The Romanovs

Here at last is the complete, long-suppressed story of how the Soviet secret police murdered Russia's last emperor and his entire family in July 1918.

As head of the imperial dynasty that had ruled Russia for three centuries, Tsar Nicholas II personified his land and people as have few monarchs in history. His murder on order of Lenin and Sverdlov was thus symbolic of the Communist effort to obliterate Russia's rich national and cultural heritage, and presaged the terrible Soviet bloodletting of later years.

This dramatic yet meticulous account by veteran British journalist Robert Wilton is based on the on-site investigation of Nicholas Sokolov--the most thorough ever conducted. As special correspondent in Russia for the London Times during the turbulent years of revolution and civil war, Wilton writes with authority and rare candor. He not only tells just how the imperial family was killed, but forthrightly assigns responsibility for the historic crime.

In an eye-opening introduction written especially for this edition, historian Mark Weber puts the murder in context, and brings the story up to date with important facts uncovered only in recent years.

A generous selection of photographs--some rarely seen --dramatically supplements the text, and additional key details are provided in four appendices.

Today, as Russians struggle to build a new order on the ruins of the Communist system, and as people around the world take a more objective look at this century's tragic history, this important book speaks with new relevance and timeliness.

INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW