The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar: The Truth Behind the Romanov Mystery - Hardcover

McNeal, Shay

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688169988 ISBN 13: 9780688169985

Publisher: William Morrow, 2002

Synopsis

The tragic fate of the Romanovs is well known: on July 17, 1918, the Tsar, his wife, their four daughters and ailing heir were led down to a basement in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and murdered in cold blood by a Bolshevik firing squad. The DNA analysis and identification of the bones were the conclusive proof the world was waiting for, and the case was considered closed. Until now.

Shay McNeal's controversial, groundbreaking new account challenges this accepted view. She presents convincing new scientific analysis questioning the authenticity of the "Romanov" bones and uncovers an extraordinary tale of espionage and double dealing that has been kept secret for more than eighty years.

Based on extensive study of American, Allied and Bolshevik documents, including recently declassified intelligence files, McNeal reveals the existence of a shadowy group of operatives working at the highest levels of the Allied, Bolshevik and German governments to free the Imperial family and guide them to safety.

Most controversially, McNeal believes that one of the plots to rescue the Tsar and his family may, possibly, have succeeded -- and she has compelling evidence to support it.

Told with the pace of a thriller, this highly readable and vigorously researched book forces a dramatic reappraisal of one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author

Shay McNeal, as President of Smith McNeal, built her firm into a multi-million-dollar business. After selling it, she became a political consultant and retired in 1992 to pursue her passion for history and writing. She is now a highly respected historical researcher who has contributed to both the BBC and the Discovery Channel on colonial American history.

Reviews

Russian history is replete with mysterious political deaths, none more compelling and long-lasting than the assassinations of Nicholas II's family. Recent DNA evidence purported to prove conclusively that the last of the czar's family was indeed killed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, but McNeal doesn't buy it. A longtime historical researcher who has contributed to both the BBC and the Discovery Channel, McNeal amasses a pile of circumstantial evidence in her attempt to question this account. Basing some of her information on recently declassified files, she shows how Allied, German and Bolshevik officials formulated plans to save the Romanovs, who were held in captivity before they were executed. But McNeal is on shakier ground when she disputes the widely believed deaths of the Romanovs mainly on the basis of second-hand accounts, some internal inconsistencies and wild speculation-such as when Pres. Franklin Roosevelt remarked that he had a controversial historical assassination that he wanted solved-because the DNA tests still represent the most scientific information available in this case. As McNeal herself admits, "[B]ut what can be asserted with certainty is that the true historical account has yet to be completely constructed." As a result, the book is unlikely to engage readers beyond those already enthralled by the Romanov case.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Aside from their devotion to each other and their family, Nicholas and Alexandra had few admirable personal qualities; as political actors, they were disastrously inept, combining inflexibility, arrogance, and amazing insensitivity to the needs and desires of their subjects. Yet an obsession with their fate endures. McNeal is a historical researcher who has contributed to the BBC and the Discovery Channel, and her efforts to fathom the supposed "mystery" of their captivity and murder is perhaps more credible than most recent accounts. Her descriptions of the various Allied efforts to rescue the Romanovs seem well researched, and they unfold like a good thriller with tragic overtones. Unfortunately, when she shifts gears and suggests that some of the family may indeed have been rescued, she descends into a fantasy world, like so many other tales, just like other Romanov biographers. Her attacks on the forensic evidence taken from the remains excavated at Ekaterinburg are wildly speculative, and she absurdly inflates the importance of minor inconsistencies. Still, there are some interesting revelations here. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688169988
• ISBN 13: 9780688169985
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368