Alexander the Great

This book is about Alexander the Great, who started from Macedonia with a modest army and against all odds conquered the biggest empire known to his contemporaries, the Persian empire. This is another telling of this legendary feat, the conquest of the world known to him and his teacher Aristotle, the loyalty of his men who followed him for more than 20,000 miles, and the spread of Greek culture and art all the way to India. It is not unusual for historians to provide different interpretations of events or people that shaped history. Alexander the Great is an excellent example of a controversial leader about whom the accounts range from the critical/cynic to the idealistic/romantic. Agnes Savill's account is definitely on the romantic side. It is an excellent account of the events, and the interpretations are well documented. However, if one is purely interested in Alexander's history is well advised to seek additional sources. Savill's book is an excellent and very enjoyable reading, especially for younger readers. By painting an idealistic image of Alexander as a unique leader (which he undoubtedly was) it captivates and inspires the reader. The book deserves the maximum rating as an overall reading experience.

This book works very well as a general introduction into the life of Alexander the Great. At times going into details of his campaign and personality, but never lingering too long on the details. It is the only major work about Alexander that I have read and it has proven very worthwhile in knowing what he did and how he has affected history. That being the case though, I will have to mention that Agnes Savill does tread the path of the apologist too many times. Often in asides or endings to the chapters she will compare Alexander?s actions and methods (usually of a less noble deed like an execution) to those of modern warfare. Warning the reader to judge lightly in the face of modern warfare?s horrors. Which is a good point, but also not necessary and too often distracting.The last one-hundred pages of the book, after the biography and historical assessment of Alexander?s life and impact, deals with the world of Greece at the time before and during Alexander?s reign. Its passions, philosophy, and overall ideals are dabbled with in brief histories of the great philosophers, wars with Persia and Sparta, and other cultural tidbits. It made for fascinating reading, but felt rushed and lacked the narrative power of the Alexander part of the story, which is the great strength of the book.

The first half concerned Alexander's biography and the second was a good all around summary of Greek thought, culture, and history as a background to explain where Alexander was coming from. All the information was pretty much consistent with other Alexander books that I have read. If the author's accounts are true then one cannot blame Alexander's faults. The conquest of Persia in the style of Alexander, more as a builder of nations and not a destroyer, was not really a bad idea since at that time Persia was pretty much in decay, out of control with all its political strife, corruption, and abuses. The only major fault I find in him, if it could be called a fault, was only in dying too early contributed in part by recklessness, resulting in the split of the empire and ensuing conflicts between the succesors.

Savill's recitation of Alexander's career is a competent and literate retelling of The Great Captain's life and his campaign that destroyed the Persian Empire and founded the Hellenistic world. She also provides us with a general and useful survey of the wider Greek world, including his contemporary philosophers and artists. Saville, however, is nothing if not an apologist for Alexander, and as anyone who's read Peter Green's "Alexander of Macedon" knows, there is much to apologize for, not least the murders of Callisthenes (his chronicler) and Parmenio (his lieutenant). Still, for an understanding of the orthodox, pro-Alexander position, one can do no better.