Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography

Only occasionally have I read a work of history that's in the "can't put down" category. DISTANT MIRROR by Barbara Tuchman, MEN TO MATCH MY MOUNTAINS by Irving Stone, and Shelby Foote's monumental Civil War trilogy come to mind. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON, 356-323 B.C. by Peter Green is now another.This material first appeared as ALEXANDER THE GREAT in 1970. This particular volume, a revision and expansion of that earlier book, is the second reprint (1991) of the title first published in 1974.For the sake of background, the author necessarily begins his masterpiece with Alexander's father, Philip of Macedon, whose achievement was to unify Macedonia and coerce the Greek states to the south to join with him in an Hellenic League. But, after Philip is assassinated on page 105, it's all Alexander as he marches his army on a peripatetic route of conquest against the Persian Empire throughout Asia Minor and the Middle East as far as present-day West Pakistan - and then back again. Twenty-five thousand miles - the circumference of the Earth - in eleven years. I kept turning the pages to see what he was going to do next.In his "Preface to the 1991 Reprint", Green makes it clear that his study of Alexander is a work in progress, and that even this book needs further revision in the light of new information. However, as flawed as the author may consider his ALEXANDER OF MACEDON to be, his masterful distillation of 17 pages worth of ancient and modern sources makes the narrative of Alexander's life sing. Green's prose is crisp and touched with a dry humor, and it never bogs down.Though Green concludes that Alexander is "perhaps ... the most incomparable general the world has ever seen", he doesn't spare his subject from charges of megalomania and tyranny. But, in a man who never lost a battle and was proclaimed first the son of a god, and then himself a deity, can this be so surprising? Alexander is, in a sense, a tragic figure - one who couldn't see the wisdom in the statement of his subordinate commander, Coenus:"Sir, if there is one thing above all others a successful man should know, it is when to stop."ALEXANDER OF MACEDON is replete with a Table of Dates, fourteen maps and battle plans, and a 24-page appendix examining in detail the poorly documented battle on the River Granicus, Alexander's first victory in Asia against the Persian king Darius III. My only complaint regarding this riveting historical piece is that the author didn't summarize the chaotic dissolution that overtook Alexander's empire immediately after his death. The contrast would have made me appreciate Alexander's achievement all that much more.

In the University I was a math major, but I have always been interested in history, and more particularly in ancient Greek and Roman history. The perspective I bring to this book is not one of expertise, but rather of enthusiastic interest. Peter Green's "Alexander of Macedon" was one of the more enjoyable biographies that I have ever read because it was not only well written, but passionately written. I have read other books, and heard other interpretations of events than those which Green gave, but for the most part I was persuaded to believe his version by his realism and his inspired sense of reality and probability. Some scholars such as Tarn have presented an Alexander as a figure of hero worship; Tarn's Alexander does very little wrong, and garners great praise for his prowess. Green's Alexander is more a man that we can recognize; he is a man driven by a will to ever be the best, driven by a lust for power, and driven by a strong belief in his own superiority. Green does not pass idle judgement on Alexander, for how can a man be so judged who lived in such different times, and who we know only through sources written hundreds of years after his death. We can and Green does, however, make many strong inferences regarding not only the character of Alexander, but his means, motivations, and intentions. Green's prose is eminently palatable, and was not stiff or dry at all. For somebody who knows little about Ancient Macedonia or Greece, this book is strong in that it does not presuppose knowledge. Green's tone is neither condescendingly scholarly nor unabashedly folksy, but one of an intelligent person ardently interested in his subject and eager to communicate it to the reader be he or she expert or layperson. If you are more interested in Alexander's generalship, then Green's book does not provide the fullest account, though he understands what took place at the main battles of the Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela (Arbela), and against Porus. For Alexander's generalship read J. F. C. Fuller's book "The Generalship of Alexander the Great," though you will notice an important difference between what Green and Fuller say about what happened at the Granicus (I tend to lean towards Green's view on this one). By those who find Alexander fascinating, and who want to gain a greater understanding of how his myth came to be, this book should definitely be read. It deserves five stars.

This book is absolutely brilliant--one of the best I've everread on any topic. If this were Siskel and Ebert, it would rate twothumbs, up, way up! To be sure, things get off to a slow start, as the author lays out the setting, introduces a large cast of characters, some of whom had the same name, so it was hard to keep up at times. But after the first several dozen pages, the story just takes off and you can't put the book down. The author does a superb job of putting you right there--I really felt like I was along for the ride clear across Asia to India and back again. But what clearly distinguishes this work is Green's dissection of Alexander. He refutes the traditional description of Alexander as an elightened civilizing force spreading Western culture. It turns out the enemy Persian Empire was a sophisticated, enlightened establishement in its own right--so much so that Greeks in Asia Minor decline to join Alexander's crusade--they've got it good under the Persians. Alexander himself is a ruthless megalomaniac who stamps out anyone he thinks is standing in his way. That said, Green judges him the greatest military commander in history and provides the goods to prove, i.e. wins under every consceivable circumstance. The descriptions of the major operations and battles--Tyre, Issis, Arbela, etc.--are first rate. I also liked the way Green wove in modernist terms (the artillery, the propaganda section, etc.) to show that certain principles and concepts are timeless. In short, this is an absolutely brilliant historical biography. Two thumbs up, way up!

This is a truly excellent biography of a near-mythical figure. First of all, this book provides a thorough review of the known history of Alexander the Great - I have no idea how someone could consider this book "fictional," as one reviewer did. What's most impressive is how Green insists on treating Alexander as a human being. An exceptional person, but still a person, motivated by human passions and concerns. Most ancient history treats its subjects like the stone statues seen in museums. But we can't forget that there were people behind the marble, and they acted like, well, people. Alexander may have considered himself chosen by the gods - and by the end, even divine himself - but Green isn't buying it. At every turn, Green insists on interpreting Alexander's actions just as he might interpret a leader's actions today. Green weighs the poltical, military, family and psychological factors that affected Alexander's decisions, and leaves divine will out of it. Some readers may be put off by Green's demythologizing. I think that Green revitalizes Alexander by restoring humanity to his myth.