What do you think?
Rate this book
Alexander the Great
Inspired in his leadership, fearless in battle, and boundless in his ambition, Alexander the Great was worshiped as a god during his lifetime, and his legend has only grown since? he remains in the forefront of the public imagination with no fewer than two upcoming major motion pictures devoted to his life. Inheriting his father?s empire at the age of twenty, Alexander resolved to expand it, and by the time of his death at thirty- two, his empire covered most of the known world?from Greece to India?encompassing two million square miles. Comprising selections from the writings of Arrian, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius Rufus, this definitive biography of the greatest conqueror in history features an introduction on Alexander?s enduring legacy by acclaimed British television personality Michael Wood.
145 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2004
5 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 17, 2021
This is a pretty good, short, and high level biography and history of Alexander the Great. It’s comprised fully of selections from three of his original biographers: The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian of Nicomedia, from the second century, the fullest surviving account of Alexander’s Persian campaign; The History of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus, from the 1st century, and which has many missing parts; and Life of Alexander by Plutarch, also from either the first or second century. So none of these are primary sources, all secondary, written hundreds of years after Alexander’s death.
What Michael Woods’ fascinating introduction points out, though, is that each is sufficiently reliable and of high quality, and each portrays Alexander in a slightly different way. Curtius was more critical of Alexander and enjoyed showing his failures, weaknesses, and his darker nature. Arrian was by contrast not very critical at all, and preferred to leave out controversial parts that would portray Alexander in a bad light, preferring instead to highlight his greatness and his accomplishments and splashes of high character, and Plutarch, who also belongs to the ‘Vulgate’ tradition of biographers that Curtius belonged to, but who had more reasoned and less sensational criticisms of Alexander.
When using all three writers to tell of the life and exploits of Alexander, what we get is a pretty balanced picture, with good overviews of the major events that defined his legacy, some insight into who Alexander was, and we see some amusing, horrific, and remarkable episodes that made up his life.
The map included after the introduction is great for constant reference, as it shows Alexander’s entire path from Macedonia through all his conquered lands, with all relevant cities and landmarks along the way. Throughout the book I found myself referring to this for context.
The book is in nine sections, detailing his adventures and conquests across the continents, with fascinating accounts of unending warfare and battle, discussions of tactics and strategies, stories of difficult travel across brutal landscapes and challenging terrain, examinations of the various tribes and kingdoms the Macedonians would fight, stories of his friends and commanders and conflicts, and insights into Alexander’s plots and character. From time to time these pages descend into interesting episodes that give a glimpse of Alexander at a lower level.
The first section covers Alexander’s earliest years, with episodes like that of him taming Bucephalus, the horse he would take with him on all his campaigns and cherish so much that he ended up naming a city after him when the horse died of old age. We also learn of his relationship with his father, Philip, and the state of affairs in the kingdom when Alexander takes the throne.
After this, we learn of Alexander establishing power in Greece, Macedonia, and Northern Europe, and see character-revealing episodes like Alexander meeting the sunbathing philosopher Diogenes, who is not impressed with Alexander and simply asks him to step out of his sunlight. Alexander is so impressed by this man that he says if he were not Alexander, he would be Diogenes.
The greatest focus in the book is on the Persian campaign, which covers a few years. Some neat stories are shared from this period, such as the time an eagle is spotted perched on the shore not far from Alexander’s fleet. His general, Parmenion, interprets this omen to mean victory is at hand and they should attack the Persian fleet for a sure win. Alexander says Parmenion has interpreted the omen incorrectly and to attack the Persians would be sure death, due to their numbers. Since the eagle is perched on land, he reasons, this means their victory will be achieved by the land. Later on, they take the Persian cities along the coast, thus preventing the Persian fleet from having a place to dock or find crews, and it is in this way, Alexander realizes, that the omen of the eagle is to be understood: this is how they achieve victory over the Persians from the land.
Following the Persian campaigns are sections about Alexander’s move into northern lands, then into India, and the retreat back toward Greece. It is during this final long return that Alexander dies at age 32 in Persia.
There are many times we see what kind of person Alexander was. And he is maybe the perfect archetype for all humans — capable of contradiction and inconsistent character, sometimes compassionate and understanding, such as when he drives Darius from his kingdom and witnesses Darius’ family in mourning, who think Darius has died and fear their own fates. Alexander is moved to tears and assures them they will come to no harm under him, and he makes sure they, and the other citizens, are treated well and allowed to bury their dead with whatever treasures they can find. Here, Alexander shows compassion and controls his passions, which, in circumstances like this, often resulted in conquerors having their way with any women they wanted.
And yet other events show the darker and more ruthless character of Alexander, like his slaughtering of untold thousands of innocent people, like the Branchidae, whom he tortures and kills because ages ago their ancestors betrayed people who are now Alexander’s allies, or when he murders his friend Clietus for disagreeing with the godlike adoration his soldiers are bestowing on Alexander, or when he tortures and executes the philosopher Callisthenes for criticizing him, and justifies it by claiming Callisthenes must have been part of the plot to assassinate him hatched by the local guards.
Even though Alexander is tutored by Aristotle in his youth and develops a deep love for knowledge and philosophy and excellence, his life is one marked mostly by violence and ruthlessness and cruelty toward others, with plenty of brief moments of compassion and kindness and munificence that are dwarfed next to his more bloodthirsty exploits. He is a perfect example of what humans are. Given the right resources and having the right strength and mettle, one can accomplish massive things of lasting impact. So too can one single person embody a full spectrum of moral and ethical choices, the impact of which will be felt in proportion to that person’s stature.
In the end, Arrian reminds us that anyone daring to criticize Alexander for his faults and evils should look at his own accomplishments and see how they stack up to Alexander’s, and to take note that they will not stack up at all. In his view, this means we should realize our meagerness and hold back criticisms. But he fails to point out that Alexander’s grandness also means that his cruelties and violence are that much more devastating and worthy of criticism. Of course, it is easy and pointless to criticize those who lived thousands of years ago in a vastly different world. But it is surely true that even by the standards of two and a half thousand years ago, death was painful, suffering was terrible, violence was unpleasant, and fear was fear.
Over the last year I’ve read books about some of the most renowned conquerors in all of history: Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, and now Alexander the Great. The things I’ve learned in these books are unforgettable, but perhaps the most poignant of these is the fact that all of history has been replete with human and animal suffering, death, violence, mass slaughter, starvation, hardship, unrelenting cruelty, war and domination, self-interest, and other often needless and pointless horrors, contrasted with some of the most lofty and ambitious forms of beauty and greatness and culture and innovation occurring alongside them. Even without character portraits or biographical exposition, one can see pieces of a puzzle in all of this, the pieces of the puzzle of human nature and all its dirty and tricky complexity. This is history, and it’s important to gain this perspective on our relative place in that world history, which, in most of the western world, is really not horrible by any stretch of the imagination in comparison. And it reveals some interesting things about human capacities for actions all over a spectrum of moral decisions and creative powers.
What Michael Woods’ fascinating introduction points out, though, is that each is sufficiently reliable and of high quality, and each portrays Alexander in a slightly different way. Curtius was more critical of Alexander and enjoyed showing his failures, weaknesses, and his darker nature. Arrian was by contrast not very critical at all, and preferred to leave out controversial parts that would portray Alexander in a bad light, preferring instead to highlight his greatness and his accomplishments and splashes of high character, and Plutarch, who also belongs to the ‘Vulgate’ tradition of biographers that Curtius belonged to, but who had more reasoned and less sensational criticisms of Alexander.
When using all three writers to tell of the life and exploits of Alexander, what we get is a pretty balanced picture, with good overviews of the major events that defined his legacy, some insight into who Alexander was, and we see some amusing, horrific, and remarkable episodes that made up his life.
The map included after the introduction is great for constant reference, as it shows Alexander’s entire path from Macedonia through all his conquered lands, with all relevant cities and landmarks along the way. Throughout the book I found myself referring to this for context.
The book is in nine sections, detailing his adventures and conquests across the continents, with fascinating accounts of unending warfare and battle, discussions of tactics and strategies, stories of difficult travel across brutal landscapes and challenging terrain, examinations of the various tribes and kingdoms the Macedonians would fight, stories of his friends and commanders and conflicts, and insights into Alexander’s plots and character. From time to time these pages descend into interesting episodes that give a glimpse of Alexander at a lower level.
The first section covers Alexander’s earliest years, with episodes like that of him taming Bucephalus, the horse he would take with him on all his campaigns and cherish so much that he ended up naming a city after him when the horse died of old age. We also learn of his relationship with his father, Philip, and the state of affairs in the kingdom when Alexander takes the throne.
After this, we learn of Alexander establishing power in Greece, Macedonia, and Northern Europe, and see character-revealing episodes like Alexander meeting the sunbathing philosopher Diogenes, who is not impressed with Alexander and simply asks him to step out of his sunlight. Alexander is so impressed by this man that he says if he were not Alexander, he would be Diogenes.
The greatest focus in the book is on the Persian campaign, which covers a few years. Some neat stories are shared from this period, such as the time an eagle is spotted perched on the shore not far from Alexander’s fleet. His general, Parmenion, interprets this omen to mean victory is at hand and they should attack the Persian fleet for a sure win. Alexander says Parmenion has interpreted the omen incorrectly and to attack the Persians would be sure death, due to their numbers. Since the eagle is perched on land, he reasons, this means their victory will be achieved by the land. Later on, they take the Persian cities along the coast, thus preventing the Persian fleet from having a place to dock or find crews, and it is in this way, Alexander realizes, that the omen of the eagle is to be understood: this is how they achieve victory over the Persians from the land.
Following the Persian campaigns are sections about Alexander’s move into northern lands, then into India, and the retreat back toward Greece. It is during this final long return that Alexander dies at age 32 in Persia.
There are many times we see what kind of person Alexander was. And he is maybe the perfect archetype for all humans — capable of contradiction and inconsistent character, sometimes compassionate and understanding, such as when he drives Darius from his kingdom and witnesses Darius’ family in mourning, who think Darius has died and fear their own fates. Alexander is moved to tears and assures them they will come to no harm under him, and he makes sure they, and the other citizens, are treated well and allowed to bury their dead with whatever treasures they can find. Here, Alexander shows compassion and controls his passions, which, in circumstances like this, often resulted in conquerors having their way with any women they wanted.
And yet other events show the darker and more ruthless character of Alexander, like his slaughtering of untold thousands of innocent people, like the Branchidae, whom he tortures and kills because ages ago their ancestors betrayed people who are now Alexander’s allies, or when he murders his friend Clietus for disagreeing with the godlike adoration his soldiers are bestowing on Alexander, or when he tortures and executes the philosopher Callisthenes for criticizing him, and justifies it by claiming Callisthenes must have been part of the plot to assassinate him hatched by the local guards.
Even though Alexander is tutored by Aristotle in his youth and develops a deep love for knowledge and philosophy and excellence, his life is one marked mostly by violence and ruthlessness and cruelty toward others, with plenty of brief moments of compassion and kindness and munificence that are dwarfed next to his more bloodthirsty exploits. He is a perfect example of what humans are. Given the right resources and having the right strength and mettle, one can accomplish massive things of lasting impact. So too can one single person embody a full spectrum of moral and ethical choices, the impact of which will be felt in proportion to that person’s stature.
In the end, Arrian reminds us that anyone daring to criticize Alexander for his faults and evils should look at his own accomplishments and see how they stack up to Alexander’s, and to take note that they will not stack up at all. In his view, this means we should realize our meagerness and hold back criticisms. But he fails to point out that Alexander’s grandness also means that his cruelties and violence are that much more devastating and worthy of criticism. Of course, it is easy and pointless to criticize those who lived thousands of years ago in a vastly different world. But it is surely true that even by the standards of two and a half thousand years ago, death was painful, suffering was terrible, violence was unpleasant, and fear was fear.
Over the last year I’ve read books about some of the most renowned conquerors in all of history: Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, and now Alexander the Great. The things I’ve learned in these books are unforgettable, but perhaps the most poignant of these is the fact that all of history has been replete with human and animal suffering, death, violence, mass slaughter, starvation, hardship, unrelenting cruelty, war and domination, self-interest, and other often needless and pointless horrors, contrasted with some of the most lofty and ambitious forms of beauty and greatness and culture and innovation occurring alongside them. Even without character portraits or biographical exposition, one can see pieces of a puzzle in all of this, the pieces of the puzzle of human nature and all its dirty and tricky complexity. This is history, and it’s important to gain this perspective on our relative place in that world history, which, in most of the western world, is really not horrible by any stretch of the imagination in comparison. And it reveals some interesting things about human capacities for actions all over a spectrum of moral decisions and creative powers.
April 20, 2013
My reading of this short but packed biography from ancient historians is as follows:
First casualty: 1500 Thracians dead when Alexander was 20 because he wanted to suppress his neighbors who were causing a disturbance before he ventured on a Persian campaign which would take him far away from his city state. His army also captured all the women and children and their provisions.
Second casualty: 3000 Triballian neighbors and some 51 Macedonians killed in the next battle.
Third casualty: city of Getae, across the Danube.
Fourth casualty: Three boys, three girls, three black rams sacrificed by the city of Pelium citizens as Alexander approached with his army to assault them.
Fifth casualty: massacre of the Thebans.
The list goes on and multiplies:
Battle at Granicus: Persians say they lost 20,000 infantry and 2500 cavalry. The Macedonians: 90. Unknown number of Greek mercenaries died fighting for the Persians.
Storming of Halicarnassus: 1000 dead in the city, 40 Macedonians.
Athenian Charidenus executed by Darius III for his warning advice that Macedonian army was better trained and prepared than his own massive forces of many nations.
110,000 of Darius' forces killed in battle of Cilicia.
30 Macedonians killed on Mount Libanus by Arab peasants.
3 Tyrian vessels rammed and sank by Alexander's navy.
Tyrian soldiers drowned and large number dead in storming their city.
Fighting people of Gaza all dead.
Uncounted thousands of Persian and Greeks killed in battles at Gaugamela. The Greeks massacre “great number of prisoners on Alexander’s order as an example to help the Greek cause.
Darius, king of Persia, wounded by his own men, dies of his wounds.
Alexander orders villagers of Artacoana who took part in an uprising to be killed and sold to slavery.
Philotas, cavalry commander is executed with all conspirators for plotting against Alexander. Alexander orders his father Purmenion to be executed on suspicion that he knew about his son’s plot.
Polemon die of an arrow wound during siege of a village.
Many soldiers’ lives lost in Bactria in winter, in the Caucasus Mountains.
Great number of Alexander’s men die from drinking water too greedily at river Oxus after marching through a desert “than the number Alexander lost in any battle”.
Bronchidae butchered and their town obliterated. Their ancestors migrated from Miletus in Greece and settled far from their homeland moving when Xerxes conquered Greece generations earlier and Alexander punishes these descendants are punished for the sins of their ancestors.
Barbarians kill unknown number of Macedonians and wound Alexander in the leg with an arrow.
Scythians kill Macedonian soldier guards at Sogdian Gaza.
Alexander kills Cleitos, his friend, after heavy drinking for insulting him. Alexander is a murderer and he regrets his deed and stays in his tent for three days.
Macedonians kill 150 Scythians and also about 837 cavalry in a battle with Bactrian Spitamenes.
Sogdians cut off Spitamenes’ head and send to Alexander.
Thirty Macedonians die climbing the Sogdian Rock, a summit fortress.
Alexander condemns without trial to death and torture Callisthenes, his official historian and nephew of Aristotle and several conspirators suspected of a plot against him. Calisthenes was believed innocent of any plot to kill the king.
Alexander ordered the inhabitants of the first city in India the Macedonians enter butchered to strike terror into people who had not experience of Macedonians.
Macedonians kill many retreating Indians who surrender a mountain fortress.
Uncounted numbers of Greeks and Indians and others die in the battle at Jhelum river against the forces of Porus.
Macedonians kill 8000 Indians in a battle by the river Hiorotis.
Heat and lack of water destroys much of Alexander’s army on march back from India a different southern route towards the Persian Gulf. We learn from Arrian that there were even women and children following the camp and they were mostly swept away by a flash flood that suddenly swelled a stream by rains that fell elsewhere in Gedrosia and many men died from unrestrained drinking.
Alexander arrests and executes Abolites and his son for improper management of Susa.
When Alexander’s friend and lover Haphaestion dies Alexander crucifies his unlucky physician, then subdues a tribe of the Cossaens, massacring the whole male population from the youths upwards as a sacrifice to the spirit of Hephaestion.
Alexander puts to death a stranger, a man called Dionysius from Messenia who dresses in Alexander’s clothes and puts on his royal diadem while Alexander takes off his clothes to exercise in a game of ball. On another occasion Alexander orders a man beheaded for putting on his head the royal diadem because his seers advised him not to allow a head to remain alive that wore the royal diadem. This last story is disputed.
Alexander dies after falling ill from a party of drinking with his companions but possibly was poisoned at the age of 32 years and 8 months after ruling for 12 years and 8 months.
This history is from original sources but written centuries after Alexander’s time:
Curtius (1st Century AD)
Plutarch (c 46-120 AD)
Arrian (c. 86-120 AD)
First casualty: 1500 Thracians dead when Alexander was 20 because he wanted to suppress his neighbors who were causing a disturbance before he ventured on a Persian campaign which would take him far away from his city state. His army also captured all the women and children and their provisions.
Second casualty: 3000 Triballian neighbors and some 51 Macedonians killed in the next battle.
Third casualty: city of Getae, across the Danube.
Fourth casualty: Three boys, three girls, three black rams sacrificed by the city of Pelium citizens as Alexander approached with his army to assault them.
Fifth casualty: massacre of the Thebans.
The list goes on and multiplies:
Battle at Granicus: Persians say they lost 20,000 infantry and 2500 cavalry. The Macedonians: 90. Unknown number of Greek mercenaries died fighting for the Persians.
Storming of Halicarnassus: 1000 dead in the city, 40 Macedonians.
Athenian Charidenus executed by Darius III for his warning advice that Macedonian army was better trained and prepared than his own massive forces of many nations.
110,000 of Darius' forces killed in battle of Cilicia.
30 Macedonians killed on Mount Libanus by Arab peasants.
3 Tyrian vessels rammed and sank by Alexander's navy.
Tyrian soldiers drowned and large number dead in storming their city.
Fighting people of Gaza all dead.
Uncounted thousands of Persian and Greeks killed in battles at Gaugamela. The Greeks massacre “great number of prisoners on Alexander’s order as an example to help the Greek cause.
Darius, king of Persia, wounded by his own men, dies of his wounds.
Alexander orders villagers of Artacoana who took part in an uprising to be killed and sold to slavery.
Philotas, cavalry commander is executed with all conspirators for plotting against Alexander. Alexander orders his father Purmenion to be executed on suspicion that he knew about his son’s plot.
Polemon die of an arrow wound during siege of a village.
Many soldiers’ lives lost in Bactria in winter, in the Caucasus Mountains.
Great number of Alexander’s men die from drinking water too greedily at river Oxus after marching through a desert “than the number Alexander lost in any battle”.
Bronchidae butchered and their town obliterated. Their ancestors migrated from Miletus in Greece and settled far from their homeland moving when Xerxes conquered Greece generations earlier and Alexander punishes these descendants are punished for the sins of their ancestors.
Barbarians kill unknown number of Macedonians and wound Alexander in the leg with an arrow.
Scythians kill Macedonian soldier guards at Sogdian Gaza.
Alexander kills Cleitos, his friend, after heavy drinking for insulting him. Alexander is a murderer and he regrets his deed and stays in his tent for three days.
Macedonians kill 150 Scythians and also about 837 cavalry in a battle with Bactrian Spitamenes.
Sogdians cut off Spitamenes’ head and send to Alexander.
Thirty Macedonians die climbing the Sogdian Rock, a summit fortress.
Alexander condemns without trial to death and torture Callisthenes, his official historian and nephew of Aristotle and several conspirators suspected of a plot against him. Calisthenes was believed innocent of any plot to kill the king.
Alexander ordered the inhabitants of the first city in India the Macedonians enter butchered to strike terror into people who had not experience of Macedonians.
Macedonians kill many retreating Indians who surrender a mountain fortress.
Uncounted numbers of Greeks and Indians and others die in the battle at Jhelum river against the forces of Porus.
Macedonians kill 8000 Indians in a battle by the river Hiorotis.
Heat and lack of water destroys much of Alexander’s army on march back from India a different southern route towards the Persian Gulf. We learn from Arrian that there were even women and children following the camp and they were mostly swept away by a flash flood that suddenly swelled a stream by rains that fell elsewhere in Gedrosia and many men died from unrestrained drinking.
Alexander arrests and executes Abolites and his son for improper management of Susa.
When Alexander’s friend and lover Haphaestion dies Alexander crucifies his unlucky physician, then subdues a tribe of the Cossaens, massacring the whole male population from the youths upwards as a sacrifice to the spirit of Hephaestion.
Alexander puts to death a stranger, a man called Dionysius from Messenia who dresses in Alexander’s clothes and puts on his royal diadem while Alexander takes off his clothes to exercise in a game of ball. On another occasion Alexander orders a man beheaded for putting on his head the royal diadem because his seers advised him not to allow a head to remain alive that wore the royal diadem. This last story is disputed.
Alexander dies after falling ill from a party of drinking with his companions but possibly was poisoned at the age of 32 years and 8 months after ruling for 12 years and 8 months.
This history is from original sources but written centuries after Alexander’s time:
Curtius (1st Century AD)
Plutarch (c 46-120 AD)
Arrian (c. 86-120 AD)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2020
This book was a good, informative way of learning about such an influential leader. I had heard briefly of Alexander the Great through history lessons but never in such depth. He is an essential character to learn about and this book really captures that. Michael Wood’s introduction was well done. I would recommend this book to any history buff.
June 9, 2012
With an introduction by Michael Wood, who in the 1990s produced the BBC series In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, this book was assembled by Tania Gergel who took the work of three famous Alexander the Great biographers--Lucius Flavius Arrianus (Arrian), Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius Rufus--and edited them into a single narrative. All the authors are citizens of the Roman Empire writing centuries after Alexander had died, but they are closer to his time then we are to theirs.
Gergel does an excellent job of taking the best of the three works and making them into one single narrative. The story goes from Alexander's princely boyhood to the death of the King who was ruler of the all the world that was known to him.
For years the Persian Empire had been the greatest threat to the freedom of Greece, the invasions of Darius I and Xerxes the Great had ended the polis or city-state of Greece and led various leagues and counter leagues transforming the culture of Greece from a free collections of city-states into the foundation for an empire. Alexander's father, Phillip, had brought Greece under the thumb of Macedon. Alexander takes the long-standing Greek conflicts, and brings a new war to Persia itself, invading and conquering the greatest power in the ancient world.
The Alexander portrayed in this text is a young man of brilliance and inexhaustible ambition. He is viewed as good person who kind and charitable but becomes corrupted with power and does cruel things even to his closest friends. Although the would later regret some of his actions his remorse comes only after the evil deed is done. Yet his flaws are from the same source as his strengths so it is hard to tell if he could be any other way.
"Meanwhile some of the older of his companions, and Parmenion in particular, looked out over the plain between the river Niphates and the Gordyaean mountains and saw the entire plain agleam with the watch-fires of the barbarians, while from their camp there arose the confused and indistinguishable murmur of myriads of voices, like the distant roar of a vast ocean. They were filled with amazement at the sight and remarked to one another that it would be an overwhelmingly difficult task to defeat an enemy of such strength by engaging him by day. They therefore went to the king as soon as he had performed his sacrifice and tried to persuade him to attack by night, so as to conceal from his men the most terrifying element in the coming struggle, that is, the odds against them. It was then that Alexander gave them his celebrated answer, `I will not steal my victory.' Some of his companions thought this an immature and empty boast on the part of a young man who was merely joking at the presence of danger. But others interpreted it as meaning that he had confidence in his present situation and that he had correctly judged the future. In other words, he was determined that if Darius were defeated, he should have no cause to summon the courage for another attempt: he was not to be allowed to blame darkness and night for his failure on this occasion, as at Issus he had blamed the narrow mountain passes and the sea. Certainly Darius would never abandon the war for lack of arms or of troops, when he could draw upon such a vast territory and such immense reserves of manpower. He would only do so when he had lost courage and become convinced of his inferiority in consequence of an unmistakable defeat suffered in broad daylight." p.70-1
This is a great little book. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the life of the man who conquered the world before he was thirty--literally!
Gergel does an excellent job of taking the best of the three works and making them into one single narrative. The story goes from Alexander's princely boyhood to the death of the King who was ruler of the all the world that was known to him.
For years the Persian Empire had been the greatest threat to the freedom of Greece, the invasions of Darius I and Xerxes the Great had ended the polis or city-state of Greece and led various leagues and counter leagues transforming the culture of Greece from a free collections of city-states into the foundation for an empire. Alexander's father, Phillip, had brought Greece under the thumb of Macedon. Alexander takes the long-standing Greek conflicts, and brings a new war to Persia itself, invading and conquering the greatest power in the ancient world.
The Alexander portrayed in this text is a young man of brilliance and inexhaustible ambition. He is viewed as good person who kind and charitable but becomes corrupted with power and does cruel things even to his closest friends. Although the would later regret some of his actions his remorse comes only after the evil deed is done. Yet his flaws are from the same source as his strengths so it is hard to tell if he could be any other way.
"Meanwhile some of the older of his companions, and Parmenion in particular, looked out over the plain between the river Niphates and the Gordyaean mountains and saw the entire plain agleam with the watch-fires of the barbarians, while from their camp there arose the confused and indistinguishable murmur of myriads of voices, like the distant roar of a vast ocean. They were filled with amazement at the sight and remarked to one another that it would be an overwhelmingly difficult task to defeat an enemy of such strength by engaging him by day. They therefore went to the king as soon as he had performed his sacrifice and tried to persuade him to attack by night, so as to conceal from his men the most terrifying element in the coming struggle, that is, the odds against them. It was then that Alexander gave them his celebrated answer, `I will not steal my victory.' Some of his companions thought this an immature and empty boast on the part of a young man who was merely joking at the presence of danger. But others interpreted it as meaning that he had confidence in his present situation and that he had correctly judged the future. In other words, he was determined that if Darius were defeated, he should have no cause to summon the courage for another attempt: he was not to be allowed to blame darkness and night for his failure on this occasion, as at Issus he had blamed the narrow mountain passes and the sea. Certainly Darius would never abandon the war for lack of arms or of troops, when he could draw upon such a vast territory and such immense reserves of manpower. He would only do so when he had lost courage and become convinced of his inferiority in consequence of an unmistakable defeat suffered in broad daylight." p.70-1
This is a great little book. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the life of the man who conquered the world before he was thirty--literally!
January 13, 2011
"Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As Told By His Original Biographers" by Tania Gergel is an excellent piece of history. The book is about Alexander the Great. It covers his ascent at a young age to king of Macedonia. Then tells of his campaigns and conquest of the surrounding areas. It shows his remarkable achievements and way of thinking all the way through. Finally it tells of his only retreat, and early death soon after.
This book is a conglomeration of old biographies. It has slow parts, and fast parts, all pre-decided upon by the amount of information available. Tania Gorgel puts it all together nicely and you do get a feel for Alexander's life and hardships. It definitely portrays Alexander the Great as best as 2300 year old information can.
I rate this book 4/5 stars because of it's few weak points. I am a good reader, but this book will throw you off at points with all the gods and goddesses and random minor people thrown in. This book will confuse you if you aren't familiar with ancient ways, times, and cultures. But, this book has great information loaded in it's pages. The information is weak and less detailed at weak points but it doesn't hinder the story. This book is a must read for information about Alexander the Great's life.
This book is a conglomeration of old biographies. It has slow parts, and fast parts, all pre-decided upon by the amount of information available. Tania Gorgel puts it all together nicely and you do get a feel for Alexander's life and hardships. It definitely portrays Alexander the Great as best as 2300 year old information can.
I rate this book 4/5 stars because of it's few weak points. I am a good reader, but this book will throw you off at points with all the gods and goddesses and random minor people thrown in. This book will confuse you if you aren't familiar with ancient ways, times, and cultures. But, this book has great information loaded in it's pages. The information is weak and less detailed at weak points but it doesn't hinder the story. This book is a must read for information about Alexander the Great's life.
February 17, 2014
I marked it 4 stars, but I'll qualify that as saying "4 stars for a history book". This book is a good starter history of Alexander that does not require a huge time investment. Most history books, to me, are too long and filled with a lot of trivial detail and speculation on the part of the author that I am not interested in. This book succeeded in getting me to a better understanding of "the real Alexander" (if there ever can be such a thing), without putting me to sleep. I liked the fact that the excerpts were taken from some of his earliest biographers, which I thought gave it more authenticity. I found some of the battle stories to be very entertaining. I found myself wishing I could have learned more about his personal life. His wife is mentioned, yet there isn't much said about their relationship. His friends are often portrayed as being very important, yet we often only learn that they were important as he is executing them. I suppose if I want to get that deeply into it I'll have to tackle a 800 page behemoth.
April 19, 2015
Alexander's tale as told by the ancient Roman historians Plutarch, Arrian, and Curtius. Their writings are the closest things we have to source material from Alexander's time and the manner in which Gergel translates and then weaves them together makes for a compelling narrative. Think "Game of Thrones " minus the dragons and you have the tale of Alexanders conquests from Turkey to the Himalayan foothills.
May 6, 2008
Another Fascinating individual. He was a visionary leader. He had a dream of a world civilization, of uniting all people and cultures. One of histories greatest "What If's" he hadn't died at such a young age but lived out his life.
June 30, 2008
Alexander's rise and death as one of the greatest military leaders as told by ancient literature. It was a fascinating life but the book was very condensed which led to a small amount of unclarity and rushed narration.
August 19, 2013
This was interesting, the mix between the modern view provided by the introduction and the ancient ( not unanimous) view by various near contemporary biographers. Mary Renault's historical novels give a better understanding why so many people loved him and followed him across a continent.
June 22, 2014
Enjoyable read. Maybe a little too much focus on the specifics of individual battles.
June 29, 2011
Dry, but historically sound.
February 5, 2016
A great book of history. A classic.
900-999-geography-history
April 17, 2019938.7092
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews