Rasputin Audiobook By Douglas Smith cover art

Rasputin

The Biography

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Rasputin

By: Douglas Smith
Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
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About this listen

A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. The spectre of the lustful Siberian holy man and peasant still casts its eerie shadow over Russia's bloody 20th century.

Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and guardian of the sickly heir to the throne. His debauchery and sinister political influence are the stuff of legend, and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty was laid at his feet. Even during his lifetime Rasputin was shrouded in myth, and his true story remains obscure today.

Douglas Smith's Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the true life of one of history's most alluring figures. Rasputin draws on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries and is the most thoroughly researched biography ever written. Demolishing the caricature of the holy devil, Smith's account presents Rasputin in all his complexity - man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. More than just the story of an extraordinary life, Rasputin offers a fascinating portrait of the twilight of Imperial Russia as it lurched towards catastrophe.

©2016 Douglas Smith (P)2016 Macmillan Digital Audio 20th Century Historical Military Modern Russia Wars & Conflicts World War I Scary
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This book is practically flawless; well-researched, in-depth, enlightening. However, I will never understand the choice of voice actor, or rather the style they were directed to use.

Instead of a neutral performance that allows the listener to imbibe the words, it feels more akin to listening to hour after hour of old-timey newsreel announcers. It is flat, abrasive, utterly untethered to the words being said.

The fact that I’ve listened to this book multiple times is a testament to its calibre in spite of, rather than enhanced by, its narration. I often look to see if there’s an alternate recording, as I’d buy it in a second.

If you can listen to over 20 hours of “instruction voice” or “local news anchor voice”, this is for you.

Oh, for a different voice actor…

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