Alexander the Great: Man of Action Man of Spirit

For a brief overview of Alexander's life, this is one of the most enjoyable books one could buy. Briant quotes various authors; the reader is encouraged to draw his/her own conclusions. And the huge bonus is the pictures. It is probably the most colourful, best illustrated little book on Alexander that's around. Even if you are thoroughly familiar with Alexander's history, it is a delight to marvel at paintings by LeBrun, Bazzi et al.

Filled with great photographs of ancient art and artifacts, "Alexander the Great: Man of Action, Man of Spirit" is a colorful biography of one of the most important figures of the classical world. Briant (translator: Leggatt), an historian specializing in this era, provides extensive background not only to Alexander's life, but to the social and political climate as well. In fact, some of the background is almost TOO extensive, and in my opinion dilutes parts of the biography. We are taken through Alexander's assumption of the Macedonian throne, his early conquests in Near Asia, his victories over Darius, and his extension of the Macedonian/Greek empire into India. Much emphasis is given to Alexander's adoption of Persian custom; since this is Briant's specialty, sometimes this supersedes all else and becomes a little redundant. Although the artwork and maps are wonderful, the layout of the book leaves something to be desired; near the end of the first part of the book, it took me forever to find the map illustrating the conquest of India -- it was so far back in the chapter, it wasn't useful. One of the elements I did enjoy was the collection of ancient commentaries/history on Alexander, occuring at the end of the main part of the book. Although the details and maps on one particular battle did nothing for me, the historical accounts of later generations, and the idolization of Alexander by not only the Greeks and Romans, but Muslims and Indians as well was fascinating. I also thought the demonization of Alexander by some segments of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages (naming him the Antichrist) was very interesting. I think that this is a good introduction to the subject, as long as you tolerate some of the repetitiveness and digressions. Unfortunately, since there is so much fantasy about Alexander, we still don't know who he really was, a problem since his death centuries ago.

Don't let the relatively small size of this book deter you; it packs one heck of a punch. A beautifully detailed account of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great, this book details the people, places, and harrowing battles that have allowed Alexander's incredible reputation to survive for over 2,000 years. In addition to the excellent account of Alexander, the back of the book has detailed information on his battle tactics, formation, order of battle, opponents, etc. The back also holds a great deal of information from *primary sources* which will always be the best sources of historical information for professional and amateur historians alike. Lastly, I would also recommend this book for children who are interested in this topic or history in general. The book contains many beautiful photographs of artifacts of the time as well as famous paintings detailing Alexander's exploits. Once you are in possession of this book, it will hold a very important - albeit small - place on your bookshelf. It is said that the peoples of the Middle East still hush their crying children by telling them al-Iskander will come and get them. Read this book to find out why, two thousand years later, his influence is still powerful enough to warrant such legend.

If you are looking for a nicely illustrated short biography of Alexander the Great, you can't do better. Well worth the money for the illustrations.