Pompey, the Roman Alexander

Pompey #1

by Peter Greenhalgh

Genres: Biography, Roman History, History

267 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1981

Reviews

[Samuel Valentino]

Another great book by Greenhalgh. As usual, he sketches a complete, and entertaining, view of the Roman world. I especially appreciated his thorough treatment of Pompey's Eastern campaign - a very detailed chronicle of where the army moved when, with a very useful map in the back. Also, he has a theory of who initiated the First Triumvirate that I've never seen in any other history book (primary sources included), but seems like the most plausible explanation for all that.

In his introduction he gives his defense that history writing shouldn't be boring to be respected. In another author, this might only result in being sadly ironic, but Greenhalgh, to this reader, pulls it off laudably. He's the most enjoyable historian I've ever read.

[Paul Waring]

A detailed and thorough treatment of Pompey's early life, written in a way that is accessible to a non-academic audience. A shame this is out of print as it is the best book I've read on Pompey to date, and I used it when writing a talk on the subject.