Customer Reviews

Alexandria: City of the Western Mind

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One wants to like a book that one has spent some deal
of money to have bought. Perhaps one should also do a
bit more intensive reading in the book before one
purchases it. "Let the buyer beware."
This is a book for the general reader, not for the
scholar, nor for anyone who wants reliable information
reliably presented. The first perplexing thing is that
the publishers have put the map of the ancient city in
such a two-page layout that the mausoleum for Alexander's
body which forms such a central axis for the city and
for this book, is hidden in the folds between the two
pages. This is certainly provocative, but also a bit
irritation producing.
Then comes the author's recounting of Alexander's
career. The events are mixed up, in the wrong
chronological sequence. He has put the Egyptian
experience of Alexander at the beginning of Alexander's
invasion (as a prelude, seeking of wisdom from the Oracle
at Siwah), before the invasion even starts. One hopes

that this is just a slip of the Word Processing program.
It seems like parts have been inserted in wrong places...
so that the final draft should have been more closely
scrutinized by author, copy editor, and someone in the
know about Alexander's career. The author thanks many
people at the beginning of this book. After reading
the book, some of those people might not want to be
thanked.
A nice helpful addition might have been an Appendix
or two containing such things as a chronology of the
Ptolemy rulers of Egypt -- and a chronology of the
significant events of the ancient city itself.
The intended target for this book seems to be the
general reader who might know next to nothing about
Alexander the Great, the ancient city of Alexandria,
or its cultural history. If that is so, then the
book might be a "worthy" buy for such a person, as
a beginner's introduction; but then one should move
on. And certainly one should not take this book, nor

recommend this book as a definitive treatment of either
Alexander or Alexandria.
As an alternative, or addition (depending upon the
reader's tastes and decisions) I would recommend
a compact, well illustrated, well written paperback
book titled -Alexandria: Jewel of Egypt- by Jean-Yves
Empereur, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., (English
version, 2002).

I would not get this book if I had to do it again. There was apparenly no editing as the book repeats itself in multiple places (how many times do I need to be told that two streets intersected -- in the space of two pages? This sort of thing occurs half a dozen times). The content itself is underwhelming: One section of the book is a shallow laundry list of the philosophers who graced the city. Then there is a long section on Cleopatra (read Michael Grant on this topic instead), then a better discussion of Alexandia's role as a theological hotbed prior to the Arab conquest. It really fails to do justice to the rich history or Alexandria as the capital of the Ptolemys and its role as an entrepot for thoughts and commerce. Look elsewhere for a good book on this city.

Like another reviewer, I bought this on impulse, since its publication coincided almost exactly with my burgeoning interest in the Hellenic period. Also like the same other reviewer, I found it disappointing, although not for the same reasons.

First, and unlike most reviewers, I found the writing clumsy and amateurish. There were many passages that literally made me wince with embarrassment. It speaks volumes about the state of "Higher Ed" that Vrettos is (or was) Director of something called "The Writers' Conference" at Simmons College. Associated with that was the poor editing noted by other reviewers. For content, it felt as though the book was rushed into print, a glaring contrast to the care that was lavished on the cover, paper, typesetting, etc. I started complaining to my wife almost immediately, who rolled her eyes and told me to "just take it back to the bookstore" (but I didn't - more in minute).

And speaking of content, the priorities were unbelievably skewed: Do we really need yet another day-by-day account of the Cleopatra-Antony affair? (which constitutes almost a third of the book). I would have preferred a more thorough treatment of Alexandria's leading cultural and intellectual lights, who, for the most part, got nothing but little capsule biographies. Especially, I would have welcomed a more in-depth look at the Ptolemies.

More positively, there is much useful information - even if Vrettos did get his sequences wrong in several places - which is why I decided to keep it. Also, and in spite of my previous reservations, Mark Antony was nicely fleshed out. I can't vouch for Vrettos' accuracy, but Antony came off as a sympathetic, flawed character; a real first century party animal, also probably a real hunk, but a crumbling cookie when the going got tough. Poor Cleopatra - one of the savviest statespersons in history, but she made a fatal error in her choice of partners.

Also unlike a few other reviewers, I found Vrettos' tenacious use of primary sources admirable. There's entirely too much "analysis"(ie: filching) in the scholarly communities, to the point where the general reader doesn't know whom to trust. I'm undoubtedly prejudiced in this, having had (the late, great, John)Greenway's Law pounded into me as an undergrad: If you must, trust only primary sources (Greenway trusted nothing).

Recommendations: If you're interested in Alexandria, and aren't yet familiar with the Cleopatra & Antony saga, get it from your local Library. If you're already somewhat up on your Alexandrian history and just want a handy reference book, look for a good used copy (say, from Amazon), and skip the middle third.

"Alexandria, City of the Western Mind," is a masterful account of an illustrious city. Theodore Vrettos, a graduate of Holy Cross Greek Theological Seminary at Harvard, uses his eloquent prose and thorough knowledge of the classical world to bring to life the city's famous architecture and accomplishments, its affluent and ambitious rulers, its restless but refined inhabitants, and its brilliant philosophers and the sublime Christian theologians and teachers who suceeded them. Excellent historical background is given concerning the lives and deeds of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Octavian, and of Antony and Cleopatra; and also of the principle people who helped contribute to the city's birth, mind, power, soul, and finally its death. Vrettos captures the identity of this magnificent city in every way possible, and with it, the attention of accomplished scholars, aspiring students, and general readers alike, will be captured as well.

This book is a useful history of Alexandria, but I had some serious reservations after reading the author's chapter on the career of Alexander, which is completely out of sequence. Vrettos places the battle of Granicus after the liberation of Egypt and notes, erroneously, that Issus (which he seems to think is separate from Cilicia, but which is in fact another name for the same place) and Tyre occur after Alexander's trip down the Indus. Too much reliance on primary sources and too little attention to modern scholarship will lead to boners like this: "...he finally marched to attack Darius, who was advancing toward him with an army a million strong."

For a hardcover history book, "Alexandria: City of the Western Mind" seems pretty lightweight. Don't get me wrong, it can be an entertaining and diverting read in spots, filled with interesting little anecdotes...in that way, it served its purpose well in whiling away the dull moments of a commute. But it seems less like a history book to me (which is what I thought I was buying) and more like a relatively erudite example of historical fiction. Especially in the whole Antony and Cleopatra narrative, all sorts of emotions and motivations are being ascribed to the, well, "characters" in ways I found factually suspect or at least unprovable either way (kind of like that movie "Troy" with Brad Pitt that came out a few years ago). Some of these too feel anachronistically contemporary in a slightly jarring way. And to tell the truth, I found this section kind of long and gradually tedious; good ol' Shakespeare's already been there and done that much better.

I was more interested in the Library of Alexandria with its scholars and in the philosophical and religious movements prominent in this city, and the author does manage to suppress his penchant for military pseudo-history long enough to at least address these, if again mostly in the forms of odd and interesting anecdotes and tales of conflict. We learn more about the number of times Origen had to run for his life from the city than about his theology. And here too anachronisms creep in, such as referring to the Great Library as a "university"--granted there is a modicum of similarity, this is a gratingly modern term to use and not very accurate. A little discussion of the small similarities and great differences would have been more apropos (and interesting) than just running roughshod over this institution's historical specificity and particularity. If the author is doing all this to appeal to his imagined "average lay reader" then he needs to let up on the dumbing down a little. And if this is really the best he can do, then he needs to leave off history and get started on his screenplay for "Alexandria: The Movie".

Mr. Vrettos treads lightly over 1000 years of history in a 200-page book filled with anecdotes, legends, and some well-worn and generalised facts which do not make for real, serious, history. Furthermore, as evidenced from his writing as well as the bibliography he credits at the end, there is a total lack of modern research. Reading this book would be a waste of time!

An accessible history of Alexandria, and a pleasant read. Not intended for an academic audience, but nevertheless, not dumbed-down either. The chapters on Antony and Cleopatra are especially exciting. Other highlights include brief biographies of Alexandria's prominent scholars, and a detailed history of the Pharos (lighthouse).

Vrettos has a nice, lucid, prose style, and the chapters are never convoluted or boring.

My only complaint would be that more maps are needed, especially of Greece. I found myself digging into other books to find the locations of some of the cities and provinces Vrettos mentions. Perhaps this will be corrected in a future edition.

This book provoked my western imagination. It's a lovely and loving look at the city of Alexandria, and explores both its thinkers, its history and its layout.

I'm lead to believe it isn't the most reliable account for scholars, but for the average lay person, it's so lovely that after reading it in the library, I had to own it.

This book is an attempt by Theodore Vrettos to describe one of the most fascinating cities of the western world, however, he spends too much time on other subjects. He talks about the birth of Alexandria in the Part I, which explains the basis of how the city is laid out and why it was constructed. In Part II Vrettos starts to tackle the subject of Alexandria's great minds. This part was pretty good, and after describing the more technical, astronomical minds, he starts Part III. This is where pages 77 to 160 are taken up, nearly half of a 220 page page book. Unfortunetely, this is just a drawn-out description of Cleopatra's life, which although it does relate to the city, is only a small, miniscule part of Alexandria's great essence. After Part III, he goes back to talking about the minds of the city, but this time talks about the philosophical and religious minds, this part is also relatively good. Finally, he devotes the last few pages of the book to The Death of Alexandria, however, he focuses far to much attention on the Arab invaders than the earlier destruction and book burnings done by other groups. Overall, the author tries to give a summary of the city, but rather than giving a well-balanced view, too much time is spent on Cleopatra, and not enough time is spent on all the intellectual people in the city. Don't be deterred from reading about Alexandria, it is a fascinating city, but I am sure that there are other, more focused books than this one.