The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity) [Hardcover]

Waldemar Heckel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521842476 | ISBN-13: 978-0521842471 | Publication Date: November 5, 2007

In this book, Waldemar Heckel provides a revisionist overview of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Emphasizing the aims and impact of his military expeditions, the political consequences of military action, and the use of propaganda, both for motivation and justification, his underlying premise is that the basic goals of conquest and the keys to military superiority have not changed dramatically over the millennia. Indeed, as Heckel makes clear, many aristocratic and conquest societies are remarkably similar to that of Alexander in their basic aims and organization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The choice of [Heckels], one of the most distinguished historians of the period in question, for this volume on Alexander the Greeat is an obvious one. [He] succeeds in giving a balanced and demystified picture of Alexander's conquests." --The Classical Review

"A book on Alexander's conquests by Waldemar Heckel, one of today's leading specialists in the field, is accordingly a welcome development. Heckel has given us a well-written and sensible book, with a good selection of facts and problems having to do with Alexander's reign and the wars he fought. Even without an overwhelming scholarly apparatus, the book can be still read with profit by professional historians and classicists, and its views generally represent a prudent compromise among the most important modern scholarly opinions." --Classical Journal

'Provides an engaging and balanced overview of the conquests.' --Bookseller Buyers Guide

Book Description

In this book, Waldemar Heckel provides a revisionist overview of the conquests of Alexander the Great. In an engaging and balanced account of key military events, he shows how Alexander imposed his will on the willing and how the defeated were no longer capable of resisting his military might.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521842476
• ISBN-13: 978-0521842471
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,827,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Alexander the Great

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem from Waldemar Heckel!, August 10, 2010

By 

Joe - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity) (Paperback)

The misleading and inaccurate review posted by "Barrie W. Bracken" has prompted me to write this.

The author of the book, Waldemar Heckel, is one of the most respected and knowledgeable authors and historians on Alexander the Great. If you do a Google search on him you will see that and his prolific scholarly additions to the field of Alexander study.

This book is a wonderful general book on Alexander and includes insights found no where else. It's the most interesting and enjoyable books on Alexander I have read in a while. And I try to read them all.

Very highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Study of World Conquest!, December 26, 2011

By 

Leif E. Trondsen "American Viking" (Citizen of the World) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity) (Paperback)

Following the 2004 release of Oliver Stone's spectacular historical film "Alexander," a deluge of scholarly and popular studies of the career of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) has inundated the market. Most of these are biographies, often providing "insights" into Alexander's complex psychological makeup. Historian Waldemar Heckel, on the other hand, focuses on what he regards as the epitome of Alexander's greatness: his military conquests. Indeed, the future world conqueror saw his first action at age 18, when Alexander led the victorious Macedonian cavalry charge at the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC). Following the assassination of his father Philip II, Alexander became King of Macadonia and then began his conquest of the ramshackle Persian Empire while only 22. After a series of spectacular and brilliant victories, the young king led his army all the way to India, creating the largest empire the world had then known. Dead at the age of 32, by natural causes or poison, Alexander passed from history into legend.

In this book, Heckel offers "an intelligent introduction" to the conquests of Alexander the Great. Thus, he does not provide a "blow-by-blow" description of each of the young king's battles, which has been done successfully by earlier historians such as Major-General J.F.C. Fuller. Rather, the author gives full attention "to aims and impact, to political consequences of military action, and especially to the use of propaganda for both motivation and justification." In this fascinating study, Alexander the Great rightly emerges as "one of the world's greatest military strategists" and not the bloody megalomaniac -- in the mold of a Hitler or Stalin -- as in some revisionist historiography.

There are, however, two of Heckel's conclusions with which I strongly disagree. First, the author presents Alexander's nemesis, the Persian King Darius III, in a more favorable light, counteracting what he regards as a negative depiction of the Great King generated by Alexander's "propaganda mills." Nevertheless, one cannot help but regard Darius III as anything but a "cowardly" figure. Twice he "ran out" on his men in the heat of battle, an action which turned the tide of two crucial battles (Issus and Gaugamela) against the Persians. Following the first of these defeats, moreover, the Great King even abandoned his mother, wife, and children to the victorious Macedonian king.

Secondly, Heckel believes that Alexander "staged" the mutiny of his men at the river Hyphasis, in the heart of northern India, to allow a "face-saving" end to years of increasingly brutal and difficult campaigning. This conclusion is truly "heretical," as Heckel himself admits. It is also dead wrong. Although Alexander the Great was not nearly the "war-lover" as many earlier historians have concluded, it is doubtful that the Macedonian king would have shirked a challenge, the conquest of all of India, especially at the height of his battlefield success. In fact, upon his return to Babylon in 323 BC, Alexander immediately began planning the conquest of Arabia, North Africa, and even Southern Europe! He clearly lived for "glory," which, in the ancient world, could only be achieved in success at war. Overall, however, Waldemar Heckel's "The Conquest of Alexander the Great" is a sober and sensible analysis of the military campaigns of one of history's greatest generals -- if not the greatest.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, December 18, 2011

By 

Brittany - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity) (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my english literature class. This book was in great condition and was as described in the listing.