Customer Reviews

The Wars of Alexander the Great

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I really enjoyed this little morsel of history, so much so that I tried another another book from the Essential Histories series when reading on another topic.

Before mentioning the good/bad about the book I should say that I'm not typically a reader of history and I had little or no knowledge of ancient Greece.

What pleased me most about the book was that the first chapter or two set the scene for Alexander's conquests by talking about his father, the Macedonian Kingdom, and its relationship to the Greek states--this seemed lacking in many of the academics' books; likewise, the end of the book touches on what followed the power vacuum left by his death. at 90 pages it's a good quick read generally covering the course of Alexander's eastward journey, without going to much into the specifics of each military campaign. the pages are peppered with treats that make the book a fun read: anecdotes displaying Alexander's personality, short excerpts from original sources like Arrian and Plutarch, pictures and diagrams to understand battles, you name it. I also appreciated that the author was not totally flattering in recounting Alexander's doings (nobody's perfect).

The only downside for me was that I wanted a little more depth than this book offered. so I read this one alongside a lengthier history (Hamilton's Genius of Alexander the Great). but as someone who doesn't typically read history, I'm not sure I really needed the play-by-play for each battle anyway.

For the new fan of Alexander, give this book a try and then decide if you need to get more elsewhere.

All in all, this book is very well written. The author, Waldemar Heckel, does a great job of condensing a large amount of history into less than a hundred pages.

He starts with a fairly complete history of the Greek and Persian wars. He continues with the rise of Macedon and the unification of the Greek peninsula. The author then discusses the ascension of Alexander after the assassination of his father, Phillip II. Amazingly, all this history is completed in the first third of the book.

The majority of the book is focused on Alexander's war against the Persians. In the end, Alexander's campaigns led to the death of Darius III and the destruction of his empire. Unfortunately, the book only contains two battle maps; one each for the battles of Issus and Hydaspes. The text, however, does cover the engagements at Granicus and Gaugamela.

As with all Osprey publications, this book if full of color paintings, campaign maps, and photographs of ancient ruins. The photos and paintings are relevant to the text. They definitely help the reader visualize the events and geography being discussed.

The author finishes the book with an excellent post campaign overview. One chapter deals solely with the death of Alexander. The chapter on "The World Around War" focuses on India and the growing conflict between Rome and Carthage. After Alexander's death, several Greek nobles fought over the remains of his empire in the war of the successors.

Bottom line: This book is both entertaining and easy to read. The author organized his narrative in good chronologic order. The material is condensed to the most relevant parts and everything is supported by graphic photos and paintings. The reader will walk away with a nice understanding of one of the world's greatest military commanders.

Alexander the Great is one of the unique figures in the history of the world. Alexander, the leader of tiny Macedonia, would take on the greatest power the world had ever seen, the Persian Empire. In time, he would be known as not only the King of Macedon and the master of Greece, but Lord of Asia, Pharaoh of Egypt, and King of Kings. Stories would be told of him for generations, inspiring all sorts of leaders such as Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte.

In a brief ninety-page work, Heckel tells the story how Alexander the Great conquered the entire world that was known to him. The book fills in some of the back-story dealing with the `relationship' between Ancient Greece and the Persian Empire. It tells the story of Macedonia and how Alexander's family came to rule it. It details the reign of Alexander's father, Philip the Magician, and how he came to be the master of all Greece. Alexander's story of conquest does not even begin until a third of the way into the book.

"What Philip's exact aims were, in terms of territorial acquisition, are not clear. Many suppose that he would have contented himself, initially at least, with the liberation of Asia Minor. This would certainly have been in keeping with Philip's practices in the past. From the time, that he overcame internal opposition and secured his borders against barbarian incursions, Philip expanded slowly and cautiously over a period of almost twenty years. Unlike Alexander, whose practice it was to conquer first and consolidate later--and, indeed, `later' never came in some cases--Philip was content to acquire territory systematically, without overextending Macedonian power." p.28

This particular series of books is interesting because they are in an almost textbook format with out really having a textbook feel to them. In this book, there are plenty of maps, classical paintings of events, pictures of statues, and photos of places that Alexander was at in modern times. A chapter deals with ordinary people who lived and worked while all these incredible events were going on. There are also little information boxes through out the book giving the reader a greater understanding on the topic that they are reading.

"Although Darius had again escaped from the battlefield, Gaugamela proved fatal for the Persian Empire. The Great King fled in the direction of Arbela, which he reached by midnight. Other contingents dispersed to their territories, as was the custom amongst the barbarians. Those who commanded the garrisons and guarded the treasures in the empire's capitals made a formal surrender to Alexander. One man, Mazaeus, the Persian hero of Gaugamela, surrendered Babylon, together with the gazophylax (guardian of the treasures'), Bagophanes. Alexander entered in great ceremony the ancient city, which now publicly turned its resources over to the new king, as it were." p.50

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn about Alexander the Great. Since what the great king is known for is war, you do receive the complete Alexander in a very abridged form. It is a very brief but informative look into the fourth century B.C.