Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie

This Pulitzer Prize winning biography chronicles the transformative reign of the tsar who dragged a medieval tsardom into the modern era. Through vivid storytelling, it details his relentless quest to westernize Russia, sweeping military reforms, decisive victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War, and the grand construction of St. Petersburg. Balancing grand geopolitical strategy with intimate personal history, it paints a masterful portrait of an ambitious ruler whose vision reshaped Europe.