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Alexander the Great
/ / Ancient history / Duits / German / Allemand / Deutsch / hard cover / dust jacket / 13 x 20 cm / 405 .pp /
319 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1965
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 15, 2019
It is a very clear, well-written book, that, at some points, is too enamored with Alexander to be relaying the entire truth.
Although I cannot testify much to the historical accuracy of the writing, the book had a good mix of the descriptions of Alexander's personality, the geopolitics of his time and the centuries before and after, details about his battles and strategies, and pictures of archaeological findings related to the era and maps which accompanied the text. It was filled with the author's opinions in addition to the facts and anecdotes, which was problematic at times, and made me feel that the author was too drunk off Alexander's metaphorical kool-aid to be a fully-accurate purveyor of the truth.
Take the burning of Persepolis by Alexander. Some claim that it was an act of complete and absolute barbarity, yet this is false as it contradicts all of the actions that Alexander took to create an image of himself as the rightful heir to the Achaemenids to maintain civility in the region and the amount of respect that he's shown to Achaemenid kings. Most other hypotheses state something that involves him being drunk -- whether he was outraged or enticed by a lover or a general or something. And the drunkenness hypothesis for the most part plausible, as he then ordered the flames to be extinguished, presumably when he came to his senses. The author of this book, however, views the act as a willful and intentional show of force by Alexander to the Persians and Asia to affirm his role as the bringer of a new era and a new leader of Asia. This misconstruing of the intentionality of Alexander's actions manifests itself in many other parts of the book, which creates a more god-like figure of Alexander than was probably true.
A completely unrelated note: the margins on this book are excellent for writing. The margins are 3.6 centimeters (1.4 inches) on the far side of each page which provide excellent space for scribbling thoughts or notes. Most books could probably benefit a lot from larger margins.
Although I cannot testify much to the historical accuracy of the writing, the book had a good mix of the descriptions of Alexander's personality, the geopolitics of his time and the centuries before and after, details about his battles and strategies, and pictures of archaeological findings related to the era and maps which accompanied the text. It was filled with the author's opinions in addition to the facts and anecdotes, which was problematic at times, and made me feel that the author was too drunk off Alexander's metaphorical kool-aid to be a fully-accurate purveyor of the truth.
Take the burning of Persepolis by Alexander. Some claim that it was an act of complete and absolute barbarity, yet this is false as it contradicts all of the actions that Alexander took to create an image of himself as the rightful heir to the Achaemenids to maintain civility in the region and the amount of respect that he's shown to Achaemenid kings. Most other hypotheses state something that involves him being drunk -- whether he was outraged or enticed by a lover or a general or something. And the drunkenness hypothesis for the most part plausible, as he then ordered the flames to be extinguished, presumably when he came to his senses. The author of this book, however, views the act as a willful and intentional show of force by Alexander to the Persians and Asia to affirm his role as the bringer of a new era and a new leader of Asia. This misconstruing of the intentionality of Alexander's actions manifests itself in many other parts of the book, which creates a more god-like figure of Alexander than was probably true.
A completely unrelated note: the margins on this book are excellent for writing. The margins are 3.6 centimeters (1.4 inches) on the far side of each page which provide excellent space for scribbling thoughts or notes. Most books could probably benefit a lot from larger margins.
May 28, 2020
Durchaus aufschlussreich zeichnet Bamm ein lebendiges Bild von der Welt in welcher Alexander der Große lebte und der Umstände unter denen er wirkte. Seine Ausführungen sind sehr plausibel aber oft spekulativ und ergeben so keine klare Darstellung sondern eine in sich nachvollziehbare Spekulation, die von einer gewissen Bewunderung für den großen Feldherren geprägt ist.
In seinen Ausführungen stützt Bamm sich auf historische Ereignisse und deren Einordnung und Verhältnis zueinander, überspringt aber auch immer wieder größere zeitliche und räumliche Distanzen.
Was bleibt ist der Eindruck eine umfassende aber subjektive Darstellung von Alexander präsentiert bekommen zu haben. Als solche ist das Buch informativ und stellenweise auch spannend, als historische Quelle aber nur bedingt nützlich.
In seinen Ausführungen stützt Bamm sich auf historische Ereignisse und deren Einordnung und Verhältnis zueinander, überspringt aber auch immer wieder größere zeitliche und räumliche Distanzen.
Was bleibt ist der Eindruck eine umfassende aber subjektive Darstellung von Alexander präsentiert bekommen zu haben. Als solche ist das Buch informativ und stellenweise auch spannend, als historische Quelle aber nur bedingt nützlich.
April 1, 2011
A very good general history of Alexander. Contains a large number of photographs of ruins, coins, art and landscapes.
August 19, 2013
As a young man, Alexander conquered much of the known world. His early death prevented other conquests. He also estabished a stable government of these lands during his lifetime.
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November 25, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews