Former People

[TommyT885]

Has anybody in the forum ever read "Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy" by Douglas Smith? If not, it is a fascinating book about the noble Sheremetev and Golitsyn families, their lives before and during the Russian Revolution, as well as during the first 25 plus years in the Soviet Union. The book retells not only the memoirs of the individuals of those noble families, but also the horrors and triumphs of the Russian aristocracy (or in a broader sense, the nobility) as a whole.

[edubs31]

I haven't yet. One of the many books I plan to get to, but I'm certain many other AP members have.

Nice interview with Douglas Smith about the book here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-people-the-final-days-of-the-russian-aristocracy-by-douglas-smith/

[Rodney_G.]

There's a thread on this book on the "Books on the Romanovs"  board here. It shows near -unanimous high praise for it, and rightly so. It doesn't downplay the wrongs of the Russian aristocracy,  but there is an unmistakable sympathy for many of the Sheremetevs and Golitsyns whose travails are followed.

It's  a really golden read.

[CHILIGENTILLY]

It is a good read, available in paper.