12% done with Peter the Great: His Life and World

Such a great story about how Peter fell in love with sailing and the sea.

I can see the lasting appeal of Russians for not living extravagantly. Peter’s digging trenches, sleeping in barracks, and living off the land (so to speak) is echoed by Tolstoy with his romantic notions of leaving society and living as the peasants.

Sophia is just as interesting … she was his sister, after all.