Alexander the Great [Paperback]

Paul Cartledge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Paul Cartledge, one of the world’s foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 BC), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order.

Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through the myths to show why he was such a great leader. He explores our endless fascination with Alexander and gives us insight into his charismatic leadership, his capacity for brutality, and his sophisticated grasp of international politics. Alexander the Great is an engaging portrait of a fascinating man, and a welcome balance to the myths, legends, and often skewed history that have obscured the real Alexander.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Alexander the Great's brilliant military campaigns in the fourth century B.C. spread not only his reputation as a heroic and ingenious leader but also the culture of ancient Greece throughout the known world. With his usual riveting storytelling, Cartledge (The Spartans), chair of Cambridge University's classics faculty, narrates Alexander's life and rise to power. Cartledge takes issue with those who contend that Alexander's greatest contribution was to spread Hellenism. He argues instead that Alexander, while sincerely attached to Hellenism, was more concerned with the glory his conquests brought him. Cartledge provides detailed chronicles of Alexander's battles with the Persians, the Tyrians and the Babylonians as he demonstrates the young king's military genius and hunger for success in war. According to Cartledge, Alexander's love of hunting game offers the key to his life and reign. It led him, for example, to successfully adapt for military battles many hunting strategies, such as the surprise attack, a uniquely Alexandrine contribution. A number of appendixes, including a glossary and an extensive bibliography, enhance the book. Cartledge's knack for bringing history to life makes for an absorbing new biography of the legendary Greek leader. 37 b&w illus., 4 maps, 6 battle plans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“May be the most accessible introduction in print.... An amazingly solid, balanced, and evocative view of the man.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“Readable and engrossing.... Immediate, discursive, insightful, and highly engaging.” –Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Incisive and judicious.... What Cartledge does so well is explain the ancient world of Greeks and Persians.”
–The Sunday Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400079195
• ISBN-13: 978-1400079193
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > History > Europe > Macedonia
  • #11 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Alexander the Great

More About the Author

Paul Cartledge is the inaugural A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Clare College. He is also Hellenic Parliament Global Distinguished Professor in the History and Theory of Democracy at New York University. He written and edited over 20 books, many of which have been translated into foreign languages. He is an honorary citizen of modern Sparta and holds the Gold Cross of the Order of Honor awarded by the President of Greece.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this book first, October 29, 2004

By 

Bob Estes "Bob" (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander the Great (Hardcover)

This is a well written and seemingly well researched book.

I am no scholar of Alexander though. This is where my frustration begins. This biography is not written in a linier or chronological style. It is more of a thematic presentation.

If, like me, you are not already familiar with the characters and events of Alexander's life, you will be frustrated as the book jumps from event to event as the author explores the persona of Alexander.

I will put this book back on the shelf for a while and revert back to a more conventional chronological biography.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What do we know of Alexander?, September 19, 2005

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alexander the Great (Hardcover)

Despite some reservations, I'll give this book a top rating based on the quality of the scholarship. The author defines his aims in the preface: to "do full justice" to Alexander's achievements -- but "respecting the limits of the evidence and of the historian's craft." Many of the popular biographers of Alexander have made of him what they wished him to be. Cartledge reminds the reader over and over of the paucity of solid information about Alexander's nature and character.

This is not the book to read first if you don't know much about Alexander the Great. The author presumes you are familiar with the outlines of his life and jumps into thematic descriptions. Chapter titles include: Alexander and the Greeks, The Divinity of Alexander, and The Generalship of Alexander. He is conservative with his sources and what emerges is a bare-bones outline of Alexander's life. Speculation is clearly labeled. We have few flights of fancy about Alexander's love life or his supposed aims to create an empire of universal peace and brotherhood.

In taking a narrow view of Alexander, what emerges is not overly favorable. That's fine. Alexander is also one of the enigmatic persons of history and he will be seen as a monster by some and as an enlightened idealist by others -- although all those massacres are hard to explain away. Cartledge is probably more reliable than most in writing of Alexander and he attempts to enliven the story with an occasional attempt at humor or frivolity. The maps of Alexander's five great battles are outstanding.

Smallchief

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essay Collection Sheds Light on the Man behind the legend, June 3, 2005

By 

A. G. Corwin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander the Great (Hardcover)

Paul Cartledge has done an excellent job of delving into the motivations and influences of Alexander the Great in his book, The Hunt For A New Past. Drawing on his expertise on the Greeks and the Hellenic period, Cartledge theorizes on the man in a collection of chapters that are essentially seperate essays on the man, myth, and legend of Alexander the Great.

This book is extremely well written and chock full of detail and source material, sometimes overwhelmingly so. Cartledge writes each chapter as if it is an independent piece. Indeed if you read the book its best to read a chapter at a time since the chapter jump back and forth in terms of linear time and military campaigns. A basic knowledge of the Greek era and its political and social intrigues helps in the understanding of Cartledge's arguments.

This is a book for those that want to know WHY history was made by certain men, rather than a year by year re-telling of Alexander's adventures. Cartledge puts his opinions out front, stating clearly where he disagrees with others and where he is merely speculating, which is quite refreshing in modern academia. Whether you agree or not, he argues his points with elegance and any preconceptions of Alexander you may have are challenged. Cartledge succeeds in producing a work that forces the reader to re-examine their views on Alexander, which is ultimately what makes entertaining history.