 "An utterly absorbing work of nonfiction" | 2009-10-17 |
| - Reviewed By mwbookrevw |
| Paul Cartledge (professor of Greek history, Cambridge University) presents Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past, an engaging historical portrait of one of history's greatest conquerors, now available in unabridged audiobook format. Narrated by Earphones and Audie Award-winning stage actor John Lee, "Alexander the Great" strips away the myths to reveal the strengths that made Alexander the Great such a successful leader, from his charisma to his ruthlessness to his skill at international politics. An utterly absorbing work of nonfiction, enthusiastically recommended for any listener curious about this legendary leader, as well as for public library collections. Eight CDs, 9 1/2 hours, tracks every three minutes for easy bookmarking. |
| |
| "Alexander the Great viewed by Cartledge" | 2009-01-29 |
| - Reviewed By matajimaya |
| The scholarship of the author is beyond dispute, very thorough and earnest. I recommend the book. It has inspired me to read more about Alexander the Great. |
| |
 "Excellent yet brief historiography of the West's greatest conqueror" | 2008-10-25 |
| - Reviewed By sheef93 |
Paul Cartledge is one of the deans of the historians of the ancient world. He is one of the leading experts - perhaps the leading expert - on the Spartans, and his work both with the written word and PBS has advanced the field of history.
So it was with great anticipation that I dove into Cartledge's book, "Alexander the Great." Alexander may have had more books written about him than any historical figure from antiquity, save perhaps Julius Caesar. This guy has been analyzed from a variety of different perspectives by incredibly talented historians. So what is Cartledge's angle, and how does it fit into the existing bibliography?
First, you have to understand that Cartledge has not written a strict chronological work of history, but rather one that is thematic. Accordingly, this is not the best book to start with if you're just diving into Alexander the Great's world for the first time. Chapters focus on the divinity of Alexander, or his generalship, or his legacies, etc. Cartledge's main focus is to analyze what kind of man Alexander was - just why in the heck did he take the Macedonian army all the way to India, and where would he have ultimately gone if the army hadn't revolted?
Cartledge has also written a historiography of Alexander. Much of the book is given to sifting other sources for accuracy, past bias, and the comparative merits of past works. Again, this makes the book easier to read if you are well-grounded in the field of Alexander. Full disclosure - I studied Alexander and his campaigns in college. I would imagine that if this was your first book on Alexander, you'd wonder why there was such a fuss over the guy because Cartledge is not interested in explaining the Battle of Issus in any great detail or explaining his new theory of how Alexander won at Gaugamela.
But that does not mean that this isn't an important book. Cartledge ultimately decides that Alexander was not motivated by political concerns ("Let's Hellenize those eastern folks!") or a desire to become a god on earth. For Cartledge, Alexander was a thrill-seeking hunter whose greatest joy came from conquest. And he would drive to the ends of the earth to sate his lust for battle.
In addition to 260-plus pages of excellent writing (although it is quite high-brow and littered with British references that I didn't quite get, such as comparing Alexander to a notorious British general who had, shall we say, strikingly unusual hygiene habits), Cartledge includes a detailed glossary, dramatis personae, and most helpfully, an annotated bibliography where he gives his two cents about many of the other sources.
All in all, this is an excellent addition to the library of any historian of the ancient world - professional or amateur. But if you are seeking to put your first toe into the waters of Alexander, you should probably start somewhere else. |
| |
| "Alexander" | 2007-06-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: AJXINW875JWPO |
Alexander. After 2,328 years who else can be identified by a single name, without a title, and still be almost universally known? Often beloved, or at least highly respected, in the west, almost universally despised in much of the east, very few with knowledge of Alexander have no feelings one way or the other.
Over the years I have read almost every book reasonably available about this remarkable man. Some of these books are highly informative but ponderous in the extreme. Some treat Alexander as the untarnished hero, the darling of the west, while others treat him as a villain and a drunk, unworthy of praise.
It is up to each person to decide who Alexander was or is, but Mr. Cartledge has produced a well-written book, informative, without bias or agenda. It has excellent detail without dragging the reader into the minutea which is of interest only to the professional historian. His discussion covers the noble and the base about this man, whom is, arguably, one of the most important persons in the history of the western and middle-eastern worlds.
Bob |
| |
| "A Good Balanced Book About Alexander" | 2007-04-03 |
| - Reviewed By virtuosofan |
This book isn't the definitive biography about Alexander and isn't a fast-reading primer either. It is at once concise and scholarly. Some sections are exhilirating and fun to read and some sections bog down and have you skipping around looking for something more fun to read. As some other reviewers have pointed out, the book jumps around based on themes (Alexander as general, Alexander as statesman, Alexander's early history, Alexander's legacy, the romance of Alexander, etc.), so it doesn't lead you through his life in a chronological order. For that type of reading, I'd recommend Robin Lane Fox's bio which reads like an epic novel and Peter Green's superb seminal bio.
If you already have a good overall grasp of Alexander's history and are looking for another perspective from a renowned scholar in this field, I highly recommend it as another addition to a well-rounded collection of works regarding this great military commander, world conqueror, and profoundly important figure in human history. Cartledge has a very thorough yet concise approach, but his very scholarly background sometimes gets a tad overbearing in some sections that read like academia. But then, some sections read like a modern article and are easy to absorb and relate to from our modern perspectives.
The fascinating thing about Alexander is the timelessness of his achievements and the means he used to attain them. Certainly, like any other human being (especially a young and supremely confident one), he was deeply flawed in many respects, but in the end, there's a good reason why he's called Alexander THE GREAT. You can't help but learn a lot from someone who was as wildly successful as he was in his incredibly ambitious endeavors. The principles of his strategies, tactics, statesmanship, governance, and leadership are all things that we can apply in our daily modern lives. His magnanimity in victory, his chivalry towards the Persian royals, his generosity towards his friends and loyal subjects, his enlightened treatment of women (including the outlawing of rape), his ability to admit his mistakes in public, his goal of fusing different cultures (essentially the first serious attempt in history to marry the cultures of the West and East), and his love for the arts and sciences are other very admirable qualities. It's obvious that he had an insatiable curiosity about any subject matter and a thirst for knowledge and learning.
We can also learn from his faults and mistakes - his delusions of self grandeur, megalomania, obsessiveness, paranoia, alcoholism, stubbornness, recklessness, ruthlessness, etc. Alexander was a man of extreme contradictions and the book examines these contradictions to a good degree. Another fascinating aspect of Alexander is the mythical aura that has followed his name since his death and this aspect is addressed in great detail in this book as well. Was he a noble libertarian who wanted to free mankind from slavery and unite mankind in brotherhood or was he simply a blood-thirsty warlord who massacred the innocents at will and only sought personal glory? Cartledge takes the middle ground and suggests that he was probably a little (or lots) of all of the above.
There are many great books about Alexander and I do think this one belongs in the collection of all the Alexander buffs for those who want to skip around and get Cartledge's credible insights, but the biographies of Robin Lane Fox, Peter Green, Nicholas Hammond, and J.F.C. Fuller are recommended for those who want a more complete overview laid out in a chronological order. Still, this is a very good and welcome work from a noted historian of ancient Greece and is an enjoyable read for the most part. It's one of those books you like to come back to over and over again just to read a certain chapter or sections when you have limited time to read. |
| |
| "Read This First" | 2006-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A6YLAVE9BJER1 |
| Being a history addict and a Soldier has led me to read everything printed in english on Alexander the Great (nuministic and logistical books included). Some biographers depict him as a shining idealized soldier-king, while others as a drunken despot on a self delusional path to deification. Cartledge balances the historical record with fresh interpretations of events and a common sense test of putting the reader in Alexander's shoes at the moment of each event. This leads to a connection with the man and an understanding of his actions that lacks in most biographies of Alexander. The answer, it seems, is that Alexander was a man like any other before and since; brilliant and flawed, just like the rest of us. If you are going to read your first book on Alexander, or only one book ever, this is the one to pick up. |
| |
Expedited Available
