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Rating: 
Summary: There is Hope
Review: "I can no longer except the standard version of events as reliable or complete." Richard Spence, professor of history and chair University of Idaho. This quote I must say I agree with completly and so will you after you read this book. When I first sat down to read this book I already knew a lot about the Romanov family and they're supposed fate on the night of July 17, 1918. As I read I would question all the things that I thought proved they had actually perished. Well I was soon to be surprised, McNeal displayed all my doubts on a table and answered all my doubts and convinced me that the family may have not died.
McNeal has resurfaced a book long forgotten called Rescuing The Czar. This book is based on two diaries by two men who claim they saved the Imperial family from the control of the Bolsheviks and helped them escape Russia. As McNeal goes along in her book she presents evidence that supports the books claim, with events, people, and documents that have only now become accessible that no one could have known about in the time period that this book was written unless they were actually involved in the rescuing of the family. Through both of these books and the evidence shown to me, I can now say that the Family could have escaped the horrible fate that history says they met.
The reason that I did not give this wonderful book four stars instead of five, is that the the text can be quite confusing from time to time. I found myself going back and re-reading passages just to fully grasps what it was trying to say to me. That as a whole is the only thing that bothered me as I read the book.
I would seriously recomend everybody to read this book if you find the events in Ekaterinburg surronding the Imperial family deppressing. It will give you new hope and make you feel a lot better.
Rating: 
Summary: So thoughtful and compelling
Review: Aside from a very valid attack of the DNA evidence that "proved" the recovery of the bodies of five family members, this is a very confusing and poorly structured analysis of "The Truth Behind the Romanov Mystery."The author has done exhaustive research, but has not synthesized it into a believable alternative to the official fate of the Romanov family.
Rating: 
Summary: More textbook than novel
Review: I was so disappointed in this book that I ended up skimming the last half (and I NEVER do that with books). I have been reading a lot about the Romanovs in the last few years, and was interested in the possibility that there might have been a rescue or at least the plans for one. This book, however, only teased with that promise. Instead it was pages of unmemorable Russian names and narrative that read more like a Congressional briefing. I actually prefer the non-fiction genre, but this book was beyond that. If you are expecting cloak and dagger or if you are expecting an elaborate plan for the rescue of of the Czar, you may be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Hope Remains
Review: Over the past 15 years I have read a number of volumes on the Romanov family, but no matter how much I read I was always bothered by all the unanswered questions. I believe there is more that we don't know about. Something different happened at Ekaterinburgh than what is printed.
Also, I was tired of the same old biographies rehashing the same stuff over and over, or focusing on what went on in the Ipatiev house. This book has a whole new angle, because it focuses on what was going on around the Romanovs, not what they might have been doing themselves.
Knowing what was going on outside gives readers the first opportunity to know what really was happening inside the house. I feel confident in saying that inside Ipatiev there was hope. For a rescue. I don't know if that really happened, but the book by Shay McNeal shows there was a serious chance that it did occur.
This book brings on even more questions, but for the first time I have ever seen, information is pieced together that before did not make much sense, and now it does! And even the unanswered questions now have reasonable, plausible possibilities.
I am not as well-read as many others on the subject, but reading this book has helped me to better understand the real political aspects swirling around this mystery.
I think anyone who has already read about the Romanovs would enjoy this book and be inspired. I have already ordered several copies for Christmas presents, it really is that interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Nonsense!
Review: Shay McNeal's book provides a comprehensive review of not only the evidence of the fate of Tsas Nicholas II and his family but a detailed analyisis of the theories and rumors surrounding this infamous part of Russian history. It is the obvious result of extensive research that is presented in a manner to keep the reader's attention throughout. This compilation of available information surrounding the various attempts to secuer the safety of the Romanovs following their capture by the Bolsheviks should be must reading for all who want to increase their understanding of these circumstances and the impact they continue to exert on the soul of Mother Russia.
Rating:
Summary: Rehash of old information
Review: Sorry the theory that is put forward in this has been out there for years. It is a rehash of material used back in the 70s. Except for the DNA reference everything has been written before.
I was very disappointed concidering the publication was continually backed up. I really looked for something new and exciting something that may even have convinced ME. I would say
if you are going for information for this subject go with the pros like Mr. Robert Massie and Mr. Edvard Radzinski.
Rating:
Summary: Must have to complete any Romanov library
Review: This book is the only book, including the most recent attempts by numerous authors, to explore in-depth the politics surrounding the Imperial Family's lives in the last days of their reign. It probes who had a motive to save them - and why. It absolutely convinced me that the local Soviet gave the order to eliminate them, not Lenin/Moscow. It made me question where and how the bones arrived at the time and place they were discovered. It helped me to understand the global picture that was occuring in World War I and how it effected the events in Russia. Sometimes it was rough going but definitely worth it. I was almost put off by one reviewer that seemed to think it was a novel. I don't read novels. But then I realized that reviewer did not know the difference in a non-fiction annotated book and a novel. In the final analysis, I could not put it down. Now I feel like I have a more complete understanding of the last days of Nicholas, Alexandra and their children. In fact, I have more questions now than ever.
Rating:
Summary: Nonsense!
Review: This is just another crackpot book about the Romanovs after the manner of Summers and Mangold's File on the Tsar. Nothing in this book should be taken seriously. The worst argument is about the Romanovs escape. Nonsense like this should have stopped being written decades ago. It is sad that some people still think there is something to say on the matter. The only decent thing about this badly written book is that it does not claim to be definitive-which it is not. Among other things the author never satisfactorily explains the existence of the Romanov remains. She never gets into how the Bolsheviks could come up with remains that matched those of the Romanovs so well. She tackles the question of the DNA match in a contrived manner. Everyone can decide for themselves, but I think this book is worth no one's time.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the subject in a generation, possibly ever
Review: This volume is absolutely a DON'T MISS for anyone even remotely interested in the captivating mystery surrounding the last Imperial Romanovs. History owes a huge debt to Shay McNeal for her efforts, and there is no doubt her book will be referred to by scholars and hobbyists for many years to come. Carefully crafted, meticulously researched, McNeal has revealed a treasure-trove of new information regarding this case. The compelling newly-discovered evidence blows the 80-year- old "status quo" version straight out of the infamous Ipatiev "cellar." New hobbyists and Romanov enthusiasts will benefit enormously from this book as well, as it is eminently readable, yet also gives the fine details the lifelong Romanov-maniac demands. This book is very important for several reasons: 1. The author dares to question what has to now been considered "set in stone" and backs up her theories every step of the way, 2. It sheds light on the fact that the famous DNA tests were and remain problematic, 3. For all intent and purposes the author proves the "Yurovsky note" is a ... and 4. McNeal is the only author since Summers and Mangold's "File on the Tsar" bold enough and bright enough to think outside the box. It is extremely refreshing to encounter an author who not only refuses to leave the family necessarily in the cellar, but goes to great lengths with her research to prove her points.
Anyone who has ever pondered the obvious missing pieces of this story simply must read this book. It doesn't solve the mystery, but it definitely points in the right direction, something the Romanov family has deserved for a very long time.
If you're not already caught up in this famous story, "The Secret Plot to Save the Czar" will have you hook, line and sinker!
Having now read Shay McNeal's book, I have only one question for the author...when is Part Two going to be available?
Rating:
Summary: Really really - you must read for a complete view of the Rs
Review: When I first became interested in the Romanovs I knew very little about Russian history so the context was difficult for me. Some suggested I read the standard books that are the usual recommendations but then one of my professors suggested I read The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar so that I could put the events leading up to the final days of the Tsar and his families' lives in Siberia into context. I am so glad I did, You will never have a complete understanding of the last days of the Romanovs until you read McNeal's first book. She attempts to walk between a page-turner and an academic exercise that we all benefit from each time we read her footnotes. Reading The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar is well worth the time you will invest.
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