We read about the discovery of the Romanov remains and how and why this was kept secret for so long. We learn about the DNA testing to determine the authenticity of the remains and the subsequent fighting over that. Of course, there is the problem of the two missing skeletons and the controversy this causes. We are introduced to a number of Romanov imposters including Anna Anderson. We learn about the fates of the true surviving Romanov's and their battle over who should be claimant to the throne. We also are informed of the destruction of the Ipatiev House by Brezhnev so that it wouldn't become a monarchist shrine. And finally, we hear about the rumors of a vast Romanov fortune that is supposed to be in foreign banks and has never been found.
Since this book has been published, the Romanov remains have finally been reburied in St. Petersburg. But even this could not be accomplished without the bickering of the surviving Romanov's (as characterized in The Final Chapter). Some of them even boycotted the event. It is not always a pretty story.
The Final Chapter is also filled with fascinating tidbits of information. For instance, Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth) provided blood samples for DNA analysis as his grandmother was the Empress Alexandra's older sister.
All in all, this is a fabulous book! Those who expect this to be a boring, dry history will be pleasantly surprised. No author has told the Romanov story with as much style, passion and completeness as Robert Massie. It is no wonder that the story of Nicholas and Alexandra refuses to die, and why new generations of readers become enthralled with this tragic story--even 85 years after their deaths.
"The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" is a very different book to "Dreadnought". It seems to be a means of cashing in on the current interest in European aristocracy and the ongoing mystique of whether Anastasia Romanov died with her parents and siblings in Ekaterinburg in 1918 at the hands of the Bolsheviks. However, while being a very different style of book, it is also a much less readable and significant piece of history. The reader seems to be on an endless journey through the minutiae of the Russian royal family and all the crackpots who claim a part of their heritage. It is not a read that is pleasant or easy to follow.
I am unable to recommend this book to other readers. The Romanovs are no longer of any modern day relevance. This book, if it has one redeeming feature, is to confirm their irrelevance.
Massie does another excellent job of writing what could be a very dry, detail oriented book so that it is enjoyable to read, and leaves no stone unturned.