The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind [Hardcover]

Justin Pollard (Author), Howard Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2006

The astonishing story of the ancient city that invented the modern world

Founded by Alexander the Great and built by Greek pharaohs, the city of Alexandria at its height dwarfed both Athens and Rome. It was the marvel of its age—legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual fluorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the “rebirth” of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace.

It was here mankind first discovered that the earth was not flat, originated atomic theory, invented geometry, systematized grammar, translated the Old Testament into Greek, built the steam engine, and passed their discoveries on to future generations via the written word. Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Jewish scholars, Greek philosophers, and devout early Christians all play a part in the rise and fall of the city that stood “at the conjunction of the whole world.” Compulsively readable and sparkling with fresh insights into science, philosophy, culture, and invention, this is an irresistible, eye-opening delight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ancient Alexandria was first and foremost a Greek city. Its history, however, is framed by two religious events that were alien to Greek intellectual traditions: Ptolemy's creation of the cult of Serapis, which helped him establish rule, and the Christian riots that massacred the pagan philosopher Hypatia in A.D. 415. Between these two events is an unmatched record of intellectual achievement, elegantly chronicled by documentary makers Pollard and Reid. Among the many scientific advances they cover, from Euclid and Archimedes to Claudius Ptolemy, perhaps the most illustrative of the city's cosmopolitanism is human anatomy, the Greeks' limited understanding of which was tremendously aided by contact with Egyptian mummification. Throughout, the authors are eager, at times overly eager, to demonstrate ancient Alexandria's modernity. So it is curious that little is said about the famous feud between Callimachus, poet and cataloguer of the great library, and his former pupil Apollonius. The ingredients of the feud—plagiarism, obscenity, professional envy—are strangely contemporary. The authors also paint an incomplete picture of the city's literary culture and its museum, which functioned like a modern university. These criticisms aside, most readers, especially those interested in the history of science, will find this a nourishing account. (Oct. 23)
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From Booklist

From the city's founding by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE through its Islamic conquest in 646 CE, Pollard and Reid track Alexandria's status as a center of Hellenism in the ancient Mediterranean world. Mysteries such as the fate of Alexandria's famous library are left as that, while the works and authors it certainly housed furnish the authors' basic source material. Both authors have produced many history documentaries, and they write accessibly, not stuffily, as they discuss why Alexandrians such as Euclid and Eratosthenes are stars in the history of science. Parallel to these stories of scholars, among them the pioneer of librarianship, the cataloger Callimachus, the authors recount the fortunes of the Ptolemaic dynasty that expired with Cleopatra. Through it all stood the Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders, from which one could have observed the Roman takeover and the growth of Christianity. Classical history buffs will savor this survey. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (October 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670037974
• ISBN-13: 978-0670037971
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > History > Africa > Egypt
  • #96 in Books > History > Historical Study > History of Ideas
  • #98 in Books > History > Ancient > Egypt

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introductory history of Alexandria, January 10, 2007

By 

Martin P. Cohen "Seeker" (Langhorne, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind (Hardcover)

This is not a scholarly work nor is it intended to be. The authors are television producers, not historians, and there are no footnotes. Still they provide a good overview of Alexandria.

As an academic at heart I have always been fascinated by the idea of a city set up to pursue learning for the sake of learning. The rulers wanted to put Alexandria on the map and to attract the best and the brightest to the city, and it never occurred to anyone that practical use might be made of the cumulative knowledge. To many, like Archimedes, the very thought of practical applications was repugnant.

There are a number of small deficiencies in the book whose cumulative impact is mildly annoying, enough to subtract a star.

There is way too much use of superlatives. This is totally unnecessary. The reader does not need to be banged over the head with the signficance of the events.

The book occasionally goes off on tangents and when it does the authors put themseleves on shaky ground. They go on at length about the philosophy of Plato and mention the influence of Heraclitus without mentioning the equal and opposing influence of Parmenides.

The authors make it seem as if the mathematics behind Eratosthenes' measure of the Earth's circumference is very complex. It does not diminish his accomplishment at all that the geometry involved is rather straightforward, as could have been shown by a simple diagram. Some diagrams of Hero's devices would also have been helpful.

I am guessing that the authors are not particularly strong in science and math. They mention that the information in the epitaph of Diophantus can be turned into a pair of simultaneous equations by those with "mathematical talents." Actually, the infomation is easily turned into a single simple equation by anyone with a basic knowledge of algebra.

The mathematician Apollonius of Perga is mentioned only in passing without reference to his important work on conic sections.

Most significantly there is little description of daily life in Alexandria or of the influence of the library on the rest of the city. There is also little description of what life was like inside the library.

Still I recommend the book for a quick view of Alexandrian history. My appetite has been whetted and I plan to use the biblography to learn more about the city.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alexandria the conjunction of the whole world., July 23, 2007

By 

Nadia Azumi - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind (Hardcover)

An outstanding book written about Alexandria Egypt. There are barely any books written on this old and historical city.
Having lived there for 30 years,it certainly appealed to me to purchase this book.
Rise and Fall of Alexandria is not only about the Ptolomies,and the library of Alexandria,or the Roman Empire.
It is the history of: philosophy,mathematics,geopgraphy,astrology,medicine,and all the intellectual minds that were born,and came to research study and die in Alexandria.
The beginning of Christianity,the translation of the Bible from Hebrew to Greek,what was Christianity and Judaism seen from the eyes of the intellectual Philosophers in Alexandria.
Who created the Pharos of Alexandria one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
Who created roads,palaces, gardens,and libraries.How it all started and how it all ended.

It is a very easy book to read,with so much knowledge,that it would have certainly been kept in the old Alexandria Library had it survived the fire.

A must read for those who like ancient history.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding read, December 30, 2007

By 

John S. Hilliard (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind (Hardcover)

I am not a scientist and know enough math to barely negotiate my check book, but that is perhaps why I find this book so fine. I am a college professor and use many sources to inspire my students. This book is written with wonderful fluidity. It does not insult the reader, yet it reads with great grace and style covering almost a thousand years of history of this great city. If you are not familiar with ancient Alexandria, I highly recommend this for learning about the amazing discoveries and creativity of learning that was the foundation of many of the great sciences that rival ancient Greece. And how much knowledge was lost when the library in the Museum of Alexandria was destroyed. Enthusiastically recommended.