THE TSAR'S LAST ARMADA: The Epic Journey to the Battle of Tsushima

In 1905, with the Russian imperialist excursion into China teetering on the brink of collapse, Russia's vast Trans-Siberian Railroad threatened, its Pacific Fleet bottled up in Port Arthur and its eastern army besieged on the peninsula protecting the port of Vladivostock, the czar conceived a bizarre plan, deciding to assemble a new fleet and sail it more than 18,000 miles to defeat the Japanese navy and relieve his forces at Port Arthur. Though the second fleet comes to a disastrous end, the battle does not begin until page 260 (and it is all over by page 285): the story here is in the arduous journey. Passing fearful allies and belligerent neutrals as well as dealing with impossible supply lines, difficult communications and inept leadership—both by the government in St. Petersburg and by his subordinates—Adm. Zinovy Petrovich "Mad Dog" Rozhestvensky emerges as the tragic hero of this "epic." In the unfolding of these details, Pleshakov provides a clear view of the politics and history of the time, as well as of Rozhestvensky. In clear and convincing English from the admitted nonnative speaker Pleshakov, the book moves inexorably toward its inevitable end with the power of a giant dreadnought at full steam, affording a moving portrait of a capable leader placed in a situation where he could not possibly prevail. Against all odds, and by this point against even the reader's better judgment, the Russian fleet arrives at the Sea of Japan to do battle with the newer, faster, more powerful, better trained and freshly maintenanced Japanese fleet, and is quickly defeated. (Apr.)

Forecast: With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian history is slowly being reintegrated into popular consciousness as part of the larger story of the West. This book has just the right balance of perspectives to serve perfectly in furthering that cause, even among those with little interest in the subject.