Customer Reviews

Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods

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4 star:		(1)
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Alexander was, first and foremost, a soldier's soldier. No armchair general, he; he led from the front, and this during an age of warfare when being "in front" was hazardous in the extreme. He was, of course, a brilliant strategist and tactician, but he never forgot his soldiers who carried the fight to his enemy. When they were on campaign, he shared their lot -- food, quarters, hardships, and all -- entirely. And, for this, they gave him their undying loyalty. Discipline, courage, fortitude, vision -- these, and many more -- are the characteristics that made Alexander III truly great.

This book captures the sense of Alexander, his relationships and his achievements extremely well. Never ponderous, it nevertheless completely describes his singular achievements. This is also a very "visual" reading experience. The illustrations, maps and photographs complement the reading and enhance the reader's understanding very well.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.

Two classical scholars have collaborated, using the resources of the Getty Museum of Los Angeles, to provide in a short compass a stunning presentation of the present state of knowledge of the life and times of the greatest general in the history of the world.

Full-color illustrations, with informative identifications, accompany every page. The treatment of sources is short but exemplary: the reader is informed to what extent sources disagree and who wrote them. Most impressively the archeological work of the last few decades is incorporated into the traditional story seamlessly and with great authority.

It is unfortunate that the maps are by no means adequate to convey the meaning of the text: places, provinces, battlefields are mentioned and described but absent from the rudimentary maps.

The reference value of this beautiful work of art is enough to justify its purchase.

This is a fantastic book and certain gives a valuable insite into Alexander the Great and Ancient Greece. You can tell from the level of detail within the book that the authors have tried to give the read as much information about Alexander and his life as one of the worlds greatest conquers.

A must read!!

I gave this book 5 stars for it's concise approach, beautiful photographs, and chronological narrative that gives even a complete Greek historical novice a valuable insight into this incredible man.
I found the book very easy to read, absorbing, and never felt weighed down with pages and pages of ancient descriptive text.
If you want to find out about Alexander, this book is by no means an all encompassing reference but it does give you the chief salient points, as a companion to the movie, or a documentary you may have watched, and makes for fascinating reading.
As you try and imagine yourself in 340BC, just stop and think as you read, and the exploits and achievements made by Alexander and his army have probably never been equaled to this day.
Another thing I love about this book, is a lot of map referencing. It's easy to wax on about Sogdia and Sewa without knowing where there are on a map today, seeing the geography of today in comparison, only widens the sense of wonder, but does help put the history in even more perspective.
Highly recommended book. 5 Stars

The writing is clear and readable; the book would be accessible to a 7th grader, upward. The book is essentially an extended encyclopedia entry. The conventional account is asserted; no (or little) debate of facts burdens the story. It contains numerous illustrations of high quality, including maps with Alexander's movements delineated.

This book was a five hour read for me, and that was perfect. I learned a good deal about Alexander the Great, but was never bored or bogged down in the minutia. The authors possess a great talent for summarizing without feeling like you're missing out on the details.

Highly recommended.

Alan Fildes and Joann Fletcher wrote this book, Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods, to tell the tale of the world's greatest conqueror. Their book is unique by the amount of space the dedicate to Alexander's time in Egypt, which they consider to be very important to his development and to his ideas on his own divinity. This book's structure and format have a very strong textbook feel to it. The chapters are subdivided into little sections and there are feature boxes that are within but excluded from the main text. The book contains a lot of incredible visuals, such as maps, images of ancient statues, medieval works of art, and present day photos of places where Alexander had been.

This work starts out as a traditional tale of Alexander, discussing the conditions of Macedonia, Greece as a whole, and the Persian Empire that long threatened Greece long before Alexander's arrival. The authors tell the story of how Alexander's dynasty got started and how his parents King Phillip and Queen Olympias came to be married. Alexander grows up between two parents who despise one another while being tutored by one of the greatest minds ever, Aristotle's.

Alexander becomes the King of Macedon when his father is assassinated. As King, goes to war against the Persian Empire. After defeating Darius III in battle at the battle of Issus and achieving victory at Tyre he heads south. The two authors focus a great deal on what happened to him when he was in the land of the Nile.

"With the whole of Asia Minor now his, Alexander was free to pursue the Persians east into their own heartlands. However, knowing that would take Darius at least a year to muster a new army after his defeat at Issus, Alexander chose instead to go south to Egypt. Although often regarded by later historians as little more than an eccentric diversion, Alexander's six-month Egyptian sojourn was essential to his future plans--he required a strong coastal base for both strategic and commercial purposes. However, the founding of the city of Alexandria was not the only legacy of the young king's time in Egypt. His stay there was marked a major psychological turning point in his life, for it was in Egypt that he became convinced of his own invincibility and divinity."(p.52)

Leaving Egypt the Pharaoh, he goes on to challenge King Darius for the rest of his empire. Defeating the King of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela , Alexander spends the rest of his life mopping up the pieces of his newly won kingdom, stretching his empire all the way to India.

After his death the authors give the best detailed account of break up his empire amongst his generals that I had ever read. The book also tells the tale of Alexander's tomb that for centuries was located in Alexandria. Now no one knows where it is! If it is ever found that discovery would make the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb pale by comparison. According to the authors it was how Alexander conquered and ruled that was his greatest legacy for he single handily ushered in the Hellenistic Age.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Alexander the Great the unstoppable conqueror who saw himself as a god.

Easy to read and go thru without all the dryness of a lot of history books. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is first getting into this subject.

I found this book to be a little like a text book. Yet after having my DNA done it was most relative to me. I found Alexander to be an incredible human being. Everything in this book is worth reading,,it is spellbinding even if it only touches the surface of his life. The information given the most relevant,his crusades and family. If you saw the movie about him it will be more enjoyable. Records were kept of him from infancy to conversations with his soldiers, to Aristotle. He was a brilliant tactician and a warrior his soldiers followed to the end. He mesmerized his enemies and people around him. His belief that he was the son of Zeus created his own belief in the divine. This book shows the true strength of Alexander, such a book is well worth the read.