Customer Reviews

Alexander the Great

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There is a truly vast quantity of books, articles, and texts available on Alexander, and I have read as many as possible. Without a shadow of doubt I can recommend Lane Fox's effort as the best I have yet encountered (for Alexander buffs I include in that list of inferiors Badian, Tarn, Wilcken, Schackermeyr, Green - both of them - Hammond, Dodge, Engels, Bosworth, Hamilton, and Griffith to name but a few). Robin Lane Fox is rightly sceptical of sentimentality when dealing with his subject. Nor does he come to Alexander with his mind already inflexible and set on the King's more cotroversial aspects - a practice deplorably monotonous within the field. On ethical issues he keeps in mind the moral tone of the day - a habit that many modern historians would do well to engage in. He is rigorous in the extreme in his use of sources; he is analytical without being academic to the point of tediousness; and he deals with Alexander as a broad and complex human being - that is to say that he deals with the Macedonian as a ruler, a general, a lover, a patron of the arts, a drinker, a hunter, a reader of literature, a quester after glory, a figure of charisma, and also as a man of complexity and failings. It is in this last respect, his varied view of the Alexander, that he succeeds the most, for many of his biographers tend to concentrate on one aspect to the detriment of all others and consequently fail to give a rounded picture of the King. Lane Fox realises that oversimplifying the personalities of long dead figures does more to cloud them than to clarify them. For this he is to be commended highly. His style is lucid and often pithy. If at times you are lulled into thinking that you are reading a novel, don't be fooled; you are constantly bombarded with scrupulously researched information that is presented in the most easy going style. He gives excellent notes and a comprehensive bibliography at the back of the book for those who are interested in the finer details of source and analysis - some 60 pages of miniscule print. I gather that some have labelled this a 'boy's own account' of the ruler. That is quite simply not the case. It is far more competent AND FACTUALLY CORRECT than most of the more academic texts currently available. If you haven't read this one you simply don't know Alexander. P.S. - If you are coming to Alexander on foot of seeing or reading the recent Michael Woods effort (In the footsteps of A the G), disregard everything you heard. The BBC series was shallow, journalistic in the worst possible way, and on more occasions than one would like to believe was factually incorrect. Fox is by far the better historian. I reiterate, this is a must.

This is an extraordinary history. Anyone expecting a conventional biography will be disappointed, since the biased and fragmentary nature of the primary sources makes modern biographical treatment for Alexander impossible, even more so than for other ancient heroes. However, one thing about the peripatetic conqueror that seems to be known with some certainty is the itinerary that defined his brief life. Starting from this, Mr. Lane Fox applies his own intimate knowledge of the middle and near-eastern landscape to create a book which, at its most basic, reads like a highly literate travelogue. This is all backdrop, though, for a kind of detective story as the author picks apart the tantalizing fragments of information and disinformation that, once boiled down, reveal for us Alexander's character. The bold military prodigy is clearly apparent here, but that's the standard textbook part of the story. Rounding out the picture, we see him as the cosmopolitan diplomat, beloved egalitarian leader-of-men, bisexual libertine, respectful supplicant to his gods, forgiving victor, gallant defender of women, ostentatious potentate, superstitious fool, charismatic orator, fearless in-the-trenches combat commander, wily tactician, boyish adventurer, child-like animal lover, sophisticated Greek intellectual, reckless gambler, visionary strategist, loyal and generous friend, bloody mass killer, and drunken lout. And the truly remarkable thing about the history is that all these persona somehow hang together, creating a believable portrait that makes it clear why Alexander has fascinated politicians, soldiers and scholars for twenty-three centuries. Stylistically, this book is dense and will deter casual readers. However, some patience through the early pages gives enough time to get into the exotic poetry of place names and the flow of the story. The turgid logic of the character study takes over from there, and the case unfolds majestically. This is a brilliant historian at work and I highly recommend the book.

There is no shortage of books on Alexander The Great, but Robin Lane Fox supercedes them all with this grand, highly detailed and impressive work that manages to entertain, educate and excite the reader about the subject. One of the benefits of Fox's "Alexander The Great" is that he decides to do away with boring, repetitive structures and decides to use both the evidence but basic human experience to tell the tale of one of history's most fascinating kings. History, Fox explains, is motivated much by human emotion, passionate feeling aside from the usual politics. This gives his book a natural dramatic touch, it doesn't have the feel of a fictitious novel, but of a biography that really tries to explore Alexander and those around him as people. One of the disappointments in Paul Cartledge's recent biography is that he relies strictly on tablets and scrolls, and dismisses the human areas, creating characters that are cardboard cut-outs. To Cartledge everything is politics, all true relationships homosexual and any other intercourse purely done for politics' sake. Fox here gives us the portrait of a man driven by a need to discover, to reach the heights of Achilles, but also a haunted man, especially by his mother Olympias. The book is also well-detailed in the culture of the times and in his descriptions of landscapes and even home interiors, Fox manages to completely transport the reader to another time and place. Each chapter is richly detailed with not only the story of Alexander, but his influence on world history and leaders like Julius Caesar and Napoleon. We get fascinating myths, comments, tales of conspiracy and murder and one of the great interchanges of culture ever. Fox educates us about customs and rituals, beliefs and battle tactics in a work of enormous scope. It is an important thing to study the past to better understand the present. Once again we are in a time when the west is going into the east, the story of Alexander has never been more relevant. "Alexander The Great" is epic and exciting and should be sought out by anyone currently engaged in reading world history.

As someone who reads few non-fiction books, particularly biography or history, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, since I wanted to learn more about Alexander, I thought this book appeared less intimidating than others. And what a great choice! An extremely enjoyable book that reads like a good novel, and, most importantly, you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy it.

Robin Lane Fox was only 27 when he wrote his biography of Alexander, but it's twice as good as many Alexander biographies written by authors who were twice Fox's age. Fox was a very young Oxford don when he researched and wrote this book, and his immaturity shows in a few spots when he makes assertions that seem to be based on "because I said so". But overall, it's a very, very well-researched and well-written biography that presents Alexander in a balanced light, being neither hagiography nor hatchet-job. It should be mentioned here that Fox's speculation that Philip's murder was probably masterminded by his wife Olympias was not original; it's specifically outlined in Mary Renault's "Fire From Heaven" and Renault is mentioned more than once as a resource in Fox's biography. (One might wonder why a biographer would list a historical novelist as a resource, but Renault scrupulously researched her own novels for historical accuracy before she published them.) The one jarring note in this book is Fox's substituting modern place names for historical names; it may be easier to look them up on a map but unless you already know that Ekbatana is the modern-day Hamadan, it gets a tad confusing. However, this is a minor cavil. Fox writes extremely well; his style carries you right along in the narrative, and there are voluminous footnotes for reference at the end of the book. One comes away somewhat awed that someone so young could have written such an excellent biography on one of history's most towering figures.

R.L. Fox does a wonderful job of weaving his story of Alexander with a mix of interesting anecdotes, balanced intepretations and a critical weighing of classical literature and accounts of Alexander's life. There are few people who have so long held the Western imagination as Alexander and there has been left a myriad of references, biographies, opinions and pamphlets written about him for the past 2300 years. With so much fact and fiction, Fox deftly guides the reader not only through his childhood and conquests, but also briefly outlines some of the major conflicts in the literature and speculation about Alexander's character and major decisions.
Fox is equally apt to the task of describing the world, both mythological and political into which Alexander would enter upon following his first footsteps at Troy, giving a solid background to readers who may only have a basic familiarity to the classical world.

Fox's gift of description and mellifluousness ties into this book's most glaring weakness, which is perhaps more the fault of its publisher - the lack of maps and their poor formatting. Much of Alexander's feats in Iran and the Punjab are left to the imagination. Countless rivers, cities, place names and engagements that are described with such detail have no secondary visual representation. Some maps also use a topographical shading format which seems to be most effective in obscuring place names that occupy the same space.

This is a well written, but wordy account of Alexander. Since this book was the inspiration for the Oliver Stone movie that may not be a good recommendation for it! What the author tries to do is bring together all the fragmentary knowledge we have concerning Alexander and discusses it in depth. He does bring a wide knowledge of ancient history to support the known views on his subject, and certain topics are debated here far more than in other biographies.

At times the book almost reads like an historical detective work where the reader is placed down with the author to try and dig around the known and possibly unknown facts. Its a compelling technecque that I have not seen done before. At times though the narrative strays far from its topic, and analysis often takes over from pure study of historical facts. This can be difficult for the reader not well versed in the history of Alexander's complex life. The auhtor also assumes certain controversial opinions which have become popular recently. For one I do not necessarily agree with his very brief description of the Granicus Battle. Mr. Fox seems to belong to the revisionist school here asserting that the battle never took place as we have supposedly been lead to believe. Alexander and the Companion cavalry did not rush across the Granicus into the teeth of the Persia lines, but instead after some mysterious initial set-back crossed further down and fought the battle on the other side of the river on open ground. This theory was put forth by Peter Greene in his largely negective biography of Alexander's life and Fox seems to buy the same theory here. For sure the ancient sources are vague, as they always are, but I think a lot of reading between the lines may be going on here to come up with something new.

Also Mr. Fox asserts that when Alexander invaded India the phalanx infantry discarded their long sarisa spears! All the evidence suggests that the phalanx sarisa was crucial in defeating Porus's elephants at the Hydespes. For such a statement to be made leads one to question Mr. Fox's knowledge on the military aspects of Alexander's career. The fact that footnotes are not included in the body of the text may also bother some scholars.

The good writing is what largely holds this work together, and some of the insightful views and opinions, especially concerning the mystery of Alexander's death are certainly worthwhile. Those seeking a military analysis will not find that here. Fox for the most part provides only cursory information on the battles. This is more a pyschological and investigative biography and it does provide many good insights. First time readers may find some of these views and opinions confusing. A good background of Alexander's life is required to get the most out of this book. I would suggest reading one of the older works out there first before tackling this book. That way the reader can see where the difference in perspective are. But for the above mentioned omissions an otherwise promising and well done work.

This book is insanely great. The author was shockingly young when he wrote it, but then, that's in keeping with Alexander himself. The author is so detailed and so knowledgeable, it's hard to believe anyone under 40 could have read so much. If you're into the period, Robin Lane Fox goes into marvellous detail on many fascinating points, most of which are glossed over by other authors. I wish someone had just told me to read this book and skip the others. The original works by Arrian and Plutarch only really make sense in the context of a work like Fox's.

In addition, Fox isn't scared to make a few conjectures - like the one that Alexander's mother was likely the one behind his father's murder. Now that you look at it, it sort of makes sense, but the thought never would have occurred to me.

I'm sure the book drives hardcore Alexanderologists (or whatever they call themselves) insane because of these conjectures, but it allows Fox to bring the man to life in a way no other author has - especially keeping in mind that no commentary direct from authors in Alexander's lifetime exists (quite like Christ, a point Fox doesn't fail to mention).

I just wish I could read it again for the first time!

Try as I might, I cannot bring myself to give Fox's treatment of Alexander the lavish four and five stars that others have given. It's not that there aren't some qualities here worthy of praise, it's that there is far too much that detracts from the enjoyment.

This is the first biography of Alexander I have read, so I'm in no position to compare it to others out there. I can say, however, that Fox succeeds marvelously in bringing geography to life. Despite reading countless books about events in the Middle East, I never truly appreciated how formidable the climate there is until reading Fox. Fox presents a picture that is literally Alexander against the world - against deserts, mountains, heat, cold, snakes, and disease. For this alone, Fox's biography of Alexander is worth reading. I can think of no other historian who so skilfully matches events to geography.

Alas, there are some daunting downsides. While Fox's descriptions of geographic features are amazing, his maps are terrible. This is not entirely his fault; much of the blame lies with the black-and-white reprint. But even putting that aside, the maps given do not completely follow the text and are too few and too far spaced through the book to be much use. Far better to put several maps in one place at the beginning or end of the book for ease of reference. Too, Fox has a depressing tendency to talk in circles for pages on end, retelling the same event over and over and over with slight variations, then giving his own conclusions that sound an awful lot like the original version of the story presented pages before. The effect is to make the reader all the more sympathetic with Alexander's soldiers as they marched through the Makran desert; like them, the reader becomes opressed by the thought that the journey will never end, no matter how worthwhile the result will be.

After a few sittings to Oliver Stone's ALEXANDER (which is really a fantastic and daring work of art), I decided to do some research concerning Alexander The Great. I read Plutharco's, Arriano's, E. Rice's and Claude Mossé's biographies concerning Alexander. I recently came across Fox's book and it really conquered my deepest admiration and made me achieve a better comprehension of Stone's movie, his perspective and anthropological emphasis on the character. I highly recomend the book, which was also the prime source for Stone's script, and insist upon the need for our better understanding of the wonderful inspiration the movie really acomplished today, as to provoke so many interesting people to get in touch with this amazing historic character who was Alexander the Great.