Ivan the Terrible

I enjoyed this book and got through it fairly quickly, but I'm not sure what the appropriate review should be. I came into this knowing nothing of Ivan except his name. The book told a complete story of a life and convinced me quite thoroughly of the man's wicked ways indeed. However, there was a certain thinness of material that could be somewhat transparent at times. The question of Why Ivan Did These Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Things is left unanswered. There is a reliance on source material which suggests certain events occurred which beggar the belief of a skeptic: A holy man threatens Ivan and suddenly thunder strikes and Ivan's horse dies. Witches predict the man's date of dying. Things like this are peppered in as if these stories were written in a prior age where artistic license mixed perversely with religious fervor to produce historically questionable but divinely wonderful accounts, and I think the authors may have been a bit too liberal in their re-telling of such tales. That being said, not being an Ivan expert in the least, I cannot say that better material existed, making this book perhaps the best there could be, despite my issues. I would read all the other comments here to get a full picture of what this book is about - they capture a lot of the thoughts I had, both good and bad.

"Ivan The Terrible" by Robert Payne and Nikita Romanoff is a superb historical biography of a 16th century madman who was, apparently a living breathing version of Sir Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the "Silence of the Lambs."Ivan the Terrible is truly a valuable history and psychological portrayal of a man who slowly became totally insane in a harsh and murderous land and period of time that required great cleverness or, pure brute strength to survive. He was, above all...a true survivalist.Robert Payne and Nikita Romanoff reveal the man, the country, and the treachery like no others. The authors develop and explain in great detail, the development (and final fall) of Ivan's most feared "Oprichniki", and their diabolical atrocities over a populace who has suffered more in the annals of history than perhaps, any other nation.This is not only a magnificent history of Ivan, but of Russia itself. From the raw frozen and muddy landscapes to the grand palaces of the Great Prince.....you will travel through 16th century Russia from the safety of your own home and yet ...continue to shudder from the cold winds, and icy stare of the red haired, Ivan Vasilievich!It makes one wonder if, Russia were cursed with two major psychological monsters, Ivan the Terrible, and Joseph Stalin or if...."one soul inhabited both bodies at different times".

In this sweeping biography, the authors present a multi-dimensional portrayal of this revered and feared Russian leader. The prose is easy to follow, although the authors do get bogged down occasionally in excessive details. Fortunately, that does not occur often. I am not a fan of excessive block quotes, but the excerpts from Ivan's letters provided an interesting window into the evolution of his madness. I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in 16th century history. The topics include the ongoing efforts of Russia to avoid returning to a vassal state of the Tatars while arm-wrestling with Sweden, Livonia, Lithuania and Poland to gain a dependable point of access to the Baltic. For good measure, the book also provides insight into the diplomatic flirtation between Ivan and Queen Elizabeth.

For the curious reader who knows little of Ivan the Terrible and wants to know more, but doesn't want to wade through all the pretentious, elevated language and sleep-inducing droning that often accompanies text books, this book is for you! It gives a comprehensive history of Ivan's life and the state of Russia throughout, but the tone is simple, straight-forward, even conversational. It's an easy and even compelling read that I found hard to put down. I would recommend it to anyone of just about any reading level who wants to learn more. One word of caution: Payne is not overly-explicit, but Ivan was the type of tsar that liked to think of new and ever more interesting ways to execute people. Even speaking of what he did in conversational tones is kind of disgusting. Not that they would be interested, but I probably wouldn't give it to kids. Other than that, a fabulous read!

I would have said "I don't like it" because 80% of the book talks about religion and religious icons and on and on and on, instead of covering more of his in depth story. The guy was basically insane based on anger and revenge and was suspicious of everyone. One little misstep and off with your head. He murdered most of his best military men and all families with "any" possible link to the throne. He ended up just plain nuts. Amazing the people and his boyars didn't revolt early in the madness and do away wih him; he had two sons, before he did away with them. Sad for the Russians at the time; what a terrifying time to live.

I once heard somewhere that Ivan the Terrible is the "Boogeyman of Russian History" After reading this, I wholeheartedly agree.First off, the man literally was insane, and should be defined historically as a serial killer. One can say that it was a different time, or that he was an absolute monarch and therefore, was corrupted by absolute power. I disagree, Anyone who takes pleasure in the distance blood sprays when an artery is hit, is probably insane. Moreso, when the victims are clergy, or even members of your own family.One might better call this book "The Life and Crimes of Ivan the Terrible" Since that is what is about. I think anyone who enjoys Russian or medieval history will enjoy this book very much

The book seems to have been written in the style of an old Bible translation. It is really annoying to read and doesn't flow so well. The story itself is interesting, but the authors never seem to get at the real reason why Ivan was so terrible. They mark the change at around the time of his first wife's death, but after investigating a little about Ivan in other sources, it seems that his cruelty manifested itself even earlier, albeit not on such a large scale. His personality is just not analyzed here with enough detail and the political and social history is lacking, as well. This book is a good beginning, but if you are interested in the subject, than more needs to be read.Ivan the Terrible was the first to call himself "Tsar," and for those interested in Russian Tsarist history than there is much you can get out of this book. But, again, there is also much lacking. It lacks depth, as said before, and the maps look like they were badly drawn by the authors themselves. There are a few pictures, but certainly not enough, and I think this book needs a bit of life. It is dry and colorless. I would recommend with only some hesitation.

This is an old fashioned narrative history of the subject. The author makes sweeping generalisations about the 'Russian character' and tends to look at the 16th century through the perspective of the cold war. It is certainly not the definitive biography of Ivan the Terrible but it is an entertaining read. I would not call it serious history!

An extremely heavy read but a real eye-opener to the daily pressures and habits of the times. Tremendous detail and insight into Ivan's inner thoughts. Although a historical depiction biography it is often compelling and dramatic.Johnny Frey

Good overview of the first tsar; written in a straightforward style though probably not sufficiently detailed for serious scholars

Written in a deeply Russian voice, the story of Ivan, "more terrible than anyone can imagine", comes to gruesome, shocking life. This book could sow the seeds of a hundred historical novels. Unabashedly imaginative, favouring interpretation and subjective judgement - and all the better for it.