7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alexander the Accessible, February 17, 2005
This review is from: Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror (Library of World Biography Series) (Paperback)
Biographies of figures from the ancient world are often written, in the words of one of my old professors, "as if the author were being paid by the word." Lindsay Adam's new biography of Alexander the Great manages to avoid that trap. This book demonstrates that scholarship and readability are not contradictory. Adam's scholarly grounding is top-notch, but he does not clutter up his narrative with the usual wordy footnotes and passages in classical Greek. Both the professional historian and the history fan will find much to enjoy here. The author handles the complex and fascinating story of Alexander's conquests and their legacy with considerable grace and mastery. The professor looking for a text for undergraduates and the reader simply interested in a retelling of one of history's most compelling careers would both profit from this book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, easy read, interesting life, May 4, 2006
I never would have read this book if i didnt have to, but once again, im glad i did. This book is really no different than anything about Alexander, except its short, easy, and it covers the important points of his life.
If you have to read it- dont worry its not too bad, and if you ever wanted to know about Alexander the Great, this book is perfect for you, both academically and casually
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just learning history, March 1, 2006
This review is from: Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror (Library of World Biography Series) (Paperback)
History frequently expresses strong views of Alexander. Alexander was not the first cult figure but one of the greatest characters of history. I thought that history books were dates and footnotes and Greek passages. But it has come down to many more questions than answers. Why did more Greeks fight against Alexander as mercenaries than for him?
I like the readability of the book. I knew something about Alexander the Great from high school. And then I learned on the History Channel about how his father Philip was killed. That's all I knew up to reading the book. Through this book I found the spirit of Alexander. The book provides a glossary which is very helpful. The book is a easy read. It's like a series of guest lectures and reviews that helped shaped the work . Frank Holt is the leading scholar working on Alexander and the East, as well as Greeks in Asia. I liked it and read more.
I learned to like the word Arete meaning excellence, but it really means the "capacity for excellence" or "prowess." It is the Homeric ideal to which all heroes aspire and the driving principle in Alexander' s character. I took this took to heart.
I never thought that money was so important to history. From the Persians 3 Billion dollars alone was the prize catch. I learned that many came over to Alexander the Great's side and he was met along the road and then cities would surrender their fortresses and treasuries to him. I enjoyed the book and liked it very much there were times I got into the action of the book. The topic of Alexander is 2300 years old. Alexander ordered a journal kept and even had a staff to keep it up to date. This was the Ephemerides ( or the royal Journal or "Day Book"). Today they survive in fragments. The literature published on Alexander in German, French, Italian and of course Greek is immense. I think I would like to read some day "William Woodthorpe Tarns, Alexander the Great 2, Cambridge, 1948.
I have started another book,"Alexander the Great" by Paul Cartledge which tells of another Alexander, the Spartans and his ancient world. The book talks a lot about history but does not get into Alexander's relationship with his father Philip or his his career in terms of alcohol. Alexander favorite pastime was hunting. In Macedonia you did not become fully a man until you had passed the key manhood test of hunting and killing, without a net, one of the ferocious wild boars that roamed the heights of western Macedonia. Only then could you recline, as opposed to sitting, when participating in the daily ritual of the symposium, the evening drinking party. Another kind of hunting, the killing of enemies in battle entitled a Macedonian to wear a special belt, as a visual signal and reminder of his attainment and prestige.
Alexander's legacy unites East and West in it's traditions including art and music. Alexander is a world legacy as well as a Greek Hero. Alexander is seen as hero, bad guy, holy man, Christian, as a new achilles, prophet and visionary, King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire. No sexual relationship ever distracted Alexander from his purpose.
From the reading I still question if Alexander was poisoned. I think he died because of a contracted fever and broken heart. I think he knew that his men wanted him to come home and finish his war in other lands. He left no heirs, nor did he establish any permanent structure for the empire. The League of Corinth had been dissolved. His empire fell apart.
This book is presuming that the reader is beginning the study of Macedonia and Alexander the Great. Another book he wrote that I would love to read is In the Shadow of Olympus: the Emergence of Macedonia ( Princeton ,1990) by E. N. Borza which describes Aristotle teaching him at thirteen and combat training at seven.
Alexander the Great introduced Greek as an official language throughout his vast empire. Alexander kept a copy of Homer's Iliad under his pillow. I liked how this man took care of his sick and wounded on the battlefield and disabled veterans. And he also took care of veterans as they got older.
The first historical novel " The Alexander Romance" celebrated his many feats and Alexander coin portraits continue to be struck. Caesar as a pretorian governor in Spain, on seeing a portrait of Alexander, lamented that he was in his late thirties and had yet to do any thing great. This was the greatness of Alexander
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