Customer Reviews

Alexander

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This book is not a biography -- it is a military history of the art of war during ancient times, with Alexander the Great prominently featured. This volume is the first of five (the next three also published by Da Capo Press) that the author uses to describe and prescribe the art of war. In this inaugural book, Dodge effectively defines his terms, principally the term strategy. This is important because this theme is progressed through the times and actions of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, and Napoleon.

Dodge's unique contribution to the subject comes from a few persepectives: first, Dodge was a soldier in the Union Army. His books were all published before the turn of the 20th century. He has often physically walked the terrain, studied the topography, and diligently compares the ancient accounts with common sense observation, with some surprising conclusions. Second, Dodge concentrates on what he is qualified to judge, military operations, tactics, leadership, and morale. He is not interesting in court politics, who loved whom, or how much it cost to outfit an elefant for battle. Many times these aspects are presented, but the author makes pains to state his inability to interpret such events. What he does do is to bring to life the man, his armies, battles, and campaigns. Most of all, the reader gets the sense of the Great Captain's position in the military story of man.

There are some weaknesses. There is a sense of "post holing" as Dodge attempts to cover 3000 years of military history and innovation. At times, the military aspects receives more attention than it should, and the books ends rather abruptly instead of leading into the next volume: Hannibal. With these weaknesses in mind the reader will have an enjoyable experience. Dodge's style is crisp, entertaining, humorous at times, and always provocative as he inevitably compares ancient military practices with those that he was familiar with, 19th century America.

The whole series is worth its weight.

Alexander by Theodore Dodge is a beautifully written book that delves into all relevant areas relating to Alexander's fight to spread Hellenism. The book gives detailed and unequivoval accounts of his great battles. It also gives one a good understanding for what military technology was available to Alexander at the time. It also focuses on the enemies of Alexander and their military strengths and developments. Theodore Dodge is a military historian and thus he does not go into the culture of both greece and Persia as much as I would have like him to. It is amazing how his work can still remain an authority after 100 years since its first publication. This shows what a great book it is and what an objective writer Theodore Dodge truly is. I have also read Hannibal and Caesar by the same author, and I find them equally great.

Its good to see the works of Dodge in print again. His six volumes chronicling the history and development of warfare were classics of their kind. Written in the 1880s, these books still have a lot to say about this subject. Granted some of the information on the organiaztion and tactics of ancient armies may be somewhat dated. Also Dodge's somewhat jaundiced view toward Asian non-western armies may seem a bit out of date in these hyper-politically correct times, but his opinions are always insightful and interesting.

What makes this history of Alexander different is the background development of ancient warfare leading up to his time, as well as the purely military analysis. The reader gets a first-rate discussion of military development and innovation before his time which places the Macedonian army and Alexander in greater perspective. You won't find this kind of depth in many other histories on Alexander. Other than JFC Fuller's analysis on Alexander's generalship, there are precious few works that devote much time to this most important aspect of his life. Whatever else Alexander was, and he was, and remains many different things to different people, he was, first and foremost, a great military genius. This is what we should remember him most for. Many more recent works often forget this important aspect, and place too much emphasis on his character. Many biographers try to read too much into his actions, and have their own agendas to pursue in discussing Alexander's actions. This must have been so in Dodges day as well as he often comments on this tendency.

One of the great things about Dodge is his often candid and frank observations. His writing style is also smooth and elegant. Too bad more historians today don't have this style of elegance anymore. Dodge avoids most of the controversial aspects surrounding Alexander's life, although he will often mention them in passing and offer a brief opinion. The reader is constantly reminded that this is a military analysis of the great Macedonian, not a biographical one. While Dodge's view is decidely pro-Alexander, he does acknowledge some of the darker aspects of his character. The reader is left to make his own judgement about these matters. Like Arrian, Dodge tries to stick to the matter at hand, and throughout maintains a solid and consistent narrative. The maps and diagrams provided may seem inadequate by today's standards, but they are numerous and very helpful in trying to understand Alexander's battles and campaigns. More works on Alexander should have maps like this.

Dodge provides a fine military narrative of Alexander. You won't find any mention of the deviant sides of his character, which is so popular today. For those aspects the reader should turn to the fanciful works of Mary Renault who freely discusses such things. Dodge's work is an excellent companion to any modern day biography of Alexander. You won't find any better discussion of the military aspects of his life than in these pages. Highly recommended for all interested in ancient warfare and the development of military conflict in general.

Here Mr. Dodge has broken down Alexander into the general that all can understand. I myself have been to Granicus, Issus, Tyre, and Gugamela I consider myself luck to see where Alexander won great victories and Mr Dodge show how these battles unfolded and how Alexander exploited the Persians at every battle they met.' Shows Darius as he really was, a coward and no true leader. Alexander is complex but very shallow in according to Mr. Dodge To the average reader I reccommed this book. To the avid historian and military historiand I recommed J.F.C. Fuller's The Generalship of Alexander the Great. Required reading at West Point and Command and General Staff School Thank You Dennis E. Medick

Dodge does an excellant job explaining warfare and tactics of the period. He doesn't focus on the personal peculiariaties of the people involved as do modern books. Excellant primer on Alexander's conquests and warefare of the ancient world.

In an admirable work,Theodore Dodge,a soldier for the Union Army during the American Civil War,narrates in detail the campaigns & exploits of who is perhaps the greatest soldier & general of all time.Highlighting Alexander's strong points,& his weaknesses,one cant help but admire & be overwhelmed by the amount of information Dodge offers for the reader.Illustrations & maps help & illustrate for the readers information & pleasure.As the previous reviewer pointedly said,this book is not so much about the personal or political life of Alexander,but his military one.Any criticisms lodged at the book concerning the former would be faulty,to say the least.The only flaws of this book are the less than detailed maps showing the battles movements,& the authors perhaps all too glowing praise for the subject.But since Dodge was a soldier,he most likely knew more than what a common layman does.Comprehensive,exhaustive,detailed,& admirably contemporary,Dodge's work is an admirable effort for military students & readers alike.

This is a great book which I would highly recommend for the casual student of ancient history. Mr. Dodge wrote the book shortly after the American Civil War. Some of his facts relating to marginal issues are incorrect, such as ancient Egyption timelines, but this does not detract from his compelling narrative and analysis of Alexander the Great. You'll probably find yourself rereading the chapters on Alexander's stunning victories in battle. Although the book is somewhat long, I can bet you'll soon be scouring Amazon.com for related texts. Check out Dodge's books on Caesar and Hanibal, as well as Fuller's book on Alexander.

In the last few months a film by Oliver Stone has released based on the life of Alexander of Macedon. It is interesting to compare the character portrayed in the film and the character portrayed in Dodges book. In the film the success of Alexander arises because of his charisma his ability to influence his troops. The book tells a different story.

Dodge explains in detail every step of Alexander's campaigns and he tries to explain the logic and reason behind every move. Some have suggested that Alexander's success was the result of his superb and highly trained army. Something bequeathed to him by his father. However others had invaded Persia before without success including the Spartans.

Alexander thought carefully through the problems of conquering such a vast empire as that of Persia. The first part of his campaign was devoted to building a logistical base for the conquest. He thus defeated two Persian armies and then set about the conquest of the Ionian coast, Palestine and Egypt. The reason being to destroy the Persian navy and to ensure that when he moved against the heart of the Persian Empire he would have a steady supply of men food and horses to keep the war going.

The general impression of a military genius is a person who the impulsive movement of troops is able to conquer. Dodges book shows how much Alexander's genius was based on the mastery of detail. At the siege of Tyre he built a land bridge out to the city which was on an island. As the defenders developed means of impeding the work he developed counter measures. As he moved through Asia he ensured the loyalty of the areas he moved through not only by leaving garrisons but building relationships by the giving reductions in tribute by promoting popular rulers and when necessary by shows of brutality and force.

Perhaps the most impressive battle he fought was against the Indian King Porus. His victories against the Persian King Darius had been assisted by that Kings flights from the battle fields. Porus was a lot braver and not only did he have a highly trained army he over 200 war elephants. Alexander to defeat Porus not only had to deal with these issues but he had to cross an enormous river in the face of a well lead and well equipped army. Dodge's account of this battle is probably one of the best in the book. The manourvering and Alexander's skill come out well in Dodge's account.

The negative side of the book is that the social attitudes and world view in the book are those of another age. Dodge was an American veteran of Gettysburg who lost his leg in that battle and in later life made his living as an author. He writes from the perspective that Alexander was not only a military genius but a person who represented the western way of doing things whilst his adversaries represented the Oriental way of doing things. This gloss is a bit unhistorical and occasionally mars the narrative but this is a minor quibble in reading a book which by and large is still readable today and is good. Broadly because of his military experience Dodge is able to understand and to explain the issues of logistics and marching and movement of an army such as Alexanders.

And in comparing the book to the film one can see that the key to Alexander's charisma and place in history is not due to the fact that he was good looking or that he carried himself in a certain way. Rather the charisma is something which grew from his mastery of detail and his ability to be a successful commander.

What a great book.Although the first part may come off as superficial or like an empty shell beside the brilliant account of Alexander's campaigns,it still is informative to the reader lacking the knowledge of such.Next we go to the man himself.In one of the most easiest & most substantial prose styles ever seen,Dodge admirably narrates in breathtaking detail the campaigns of perhaps the greatest general & soldier of all time.Indispensable.

This and the Hannibal and Caesar books in the series provide very detailed descriptions of the battles. What is lacking is any kind of analysis of events and battle tactics and, more importantly, there's no synthesis whatsoever that addresses the Origin and Growth of the Art of War, the theme of the series. For that, the first volume of Delbruck's series is more insightful and the four books by Connolly, Hanson, Goldsworthy, and Warry on greek and roman warfare have more illustrative maps.