Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As...

Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As Told By His ... | The best audio book, on Alexander, that I have listened to.

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Alexander the Grea...

	Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As Told By His ... Penguin (Non-Classics), 2004 - 176 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Inspired in his leadership, fearless in battle, and boundless in his ambition, Alexander the Great was worshiped as a god during his lifetime, and his legend has only grown since? he remains in the forefront of the public imagination with no fewer than two upcoming major motion pictures devoted to his life. Inheriting his father?s empire at the age of twenty, Alexander resolved to expand it, and by the time of his death at thirty- two, his empire covered most of the known world?from Greece to India?encompassing two million square miles. Comprising selections from the writings of Arrian, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius Rufus, this definitive biography of the greatest conqueror in history features an introduction on Alexander?s enduring legacy by acclaimed British television personality Michael Wood.

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The "GREATEST" OF THE "GREAT"

Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history. To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher. The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him. Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33. Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord. Some other called him civilizer and even God! All of them yet, called him "The Great". He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"! Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.

Curtius' work is the oldest extant work available and based on eyewitness accounts. He does a better job than most in explaining the battle scenes, and seems to be more balanced in his admiration and criticism of Alexander then any of the other early biographers. I love his Bucephalus Story, and I recount it here so you get a flavor of the promise this young Alexander shows.

The legend begins with Philoneicus, a Thessalian, bringing a wild horse to Philip for him to buy. None of the hands was able to handle it, and Philip grew upset at Philoneicus for bringing such an unstable horse to him. Alexander, however, publicly defied his father and claimed that he could handle the horse. The bet between Philip and Alexander was that if Alexander could ride the horse, Philip would buy it, if not, Alexander would have to pay the price of the horse, which was 13 talents, an enormous sum for a boy of Alexander's age to have.

Alexander apparently noticed that the horse had been shying away from its own shadow, and so he led it gently into the sun, so that its shadow was behind it, all the while stroking it gently and whispering into its ear, (Alexander seems to be the original horse whisperer). Eventually the horse let Alexander mount him, and Alexander was able to show his equestrian skill to his father and all who were watching. The incident so impressed Alexander's father, King Philip that he told the boy "Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too little for thee". He named the horse Bucephalus, which means Ox head, and rode it across Asia, founding a city in its honor in India after its death. This story gives you an inkling about the man.

This book is a must read for students of Alexander, I also recommend Plutarch's and Arrian's work. Contemporary writers, J.F. C. Fuller and Tarn. Most of Alexander's greatest military traits are in the area of military logistics and to understand his genius in this area I highly recommend reading, "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army," by Donald W. Engels.

As a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

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The best audio book, on Alexander, that I have listened to.

Alexander the Great, by Arrian, is the modern English translation of "The Anabasis of Alexander" by Lucius Flavius Arrianus (Arrian), written in the second century A.D. There are no surviving "first hand" accounts of Alexander; however, Arrian informs us that his work is an abridgement of many other writers, some of whom accompanied Alexander on his conquest of the Persian Empire. In particular, Arrian relies most heavily on Ptolemy (an outstanding General in Alexander's army who later founded the Ptolemeic dynasty,in Egypt, ending with Cleopatra) and Aristobulus (probably a military engineer or civilian who accompanied Alexander on his campaign). Arrian is a Roman historian who lived 85 AD to 146 AD, and had multiple reasons for writing about the career of Alexander the Great. Arrian, himself, was a military leader over an entire Roman legion. No doubt, he had reason to admire Alexander for his brilliance as a leader and tactician. Also, although Arrian was a Roman citizen he was also ethnically Greek, born in the Greek town of Nicomedia. I can't help but feel that a sense of nationalism and pride may have played a role in Arrian's selection of 'Alexander of Macedon' as the subject for his books.

This is the third audio book about Alexander the Great, in a row, that I have listened to. It is, as far as I am concerned, the gold standard by which to compare any other audio book on this subject. I discovered, while listening to the other two books that both authors quoted Arrian, either directly or indirectly, frequently. I decided, therefore, to go right to the source, itself, and listen to what Arrian had to say about Alexander; and I am glad that I did. I had some initial aprehension about listening to an audio book that was written (probably in 'Attic') in the second century AD; though my fears were unfounded. The translation is completely modern. I am not qualified to comment on the accuracy of the translation, either in word translation or in style; however, I can say that there are no anachronisms as a result of the translation.

In addition to the main body of the translated work, comprising a total of 7 books (with only one of the original pages missing, and the narrater tells you where this occurs), there is: a brief introduction by Edwin Robert Bevin, an epilogue by William W. Tarn and a "copa to the epilogue" by Mary Renault. There are 26 mp3 tracts lasting 12 hours, in total. The Anabasis is narrated by the extremely talented Charlton Griffin. Unlike today's authors, Arrian does not spend a great deal of time discussing Alexander's family history, birth or formative years. This book focuses it's content primarily on Alexander's twelve years of conquest in Asia and India. Arrian gives a remarkably detailed account of Alexander's travels, with great attention to detail paid to both major and minor battles. For instance, Arrian will tell you how many foot soldiers, cavalry, archers and elephants each side possesed: how they arranged their troops and what the terrain and weather conditions were like at the time of battle. We learn the juicy details about who initiated the battle (usually Alexander), how the battle progresses and the ultimate outcome for each battle, with (often probably exaggerated) numbers given for the dead and wounded, on each side. We learn, not only the strategy and tactics that Alexander employed and how quickly he was capable of modifying them but also, according to General Ptolemy, the reasons why Alexander chose his specific strategies and tactics, and the reasons why he occasionally abandoned his usual methods.

Arrian does treat us to some the personal stories, outside of battle, which illuminate Alexander's character. I was amazed to learn how deeply religious Alexander was, making sure to offer sacrifices to the appropriate God's even when he was ill and it was all that he could do to perform the ceremonies. Religion was not a frivolous thing to these soldiers; they took it very seriously. I caution the listener NOT to judge Alexander by modern day standards. Alexander's time, cultural values, religious beliefs and mores were completely different from our own. Selling the wives and children of a defeated people into slavery was NOT considered wrong or immoral in Alexander's time; it was the norm. Arrian, fortunately, points out copious instances where Alexander defied tradition and raised himself and his troops to a higher moral standard than any other king of the same time period. He also points out that Alexander was human (even though Alexander considered himself a living God) and subject to the same temptations of the flesh that all men are subject to. Yet, in spite of this, Alexander proved himself capable of remarkable compassion, forgiveness and restraint for a king with unlimited power.

Arrian's style of writing is rather straightforward, with the occassional editorializing. Today's historians place great emphasis on accuracy of details, but the ancient historians (the Greeks, especially) focused more on the moral and meaning of the story. I find Arrian a pleasant balance between the two (though, admittedly, I prefer greater historical accuracy). I loved this book and look forward to future listenings. I give credit to Arrian for the labor he put into these seven books, before the advent of the printing press, computers or even the pen. I am also grateful that these seven books have survived the ages, that we may know Alexander of Macedon, better. The introduction and epilogues are short, but good (especially Mary Renault's). However, my greatest praise goes to the Narrater, Charlton Griffin. All I can say is...Wow. He made me feel like Arrian was speaking directly to me. Griffin brought Lucius Flavius Arrianus to life and Arrian helped make Alexander "real," to me.

Other books, which give more detail of Alexander's early life, and tutelage under Aristotle, may complement this book but I doubt any other book will replace it.

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Ruler by 16 ... Commander by 20 ...Conqueror by 26 ...Alexander the Great

Pupil of Aristotle, ruler at 16, commander at 20 of armies when modern men are only just legally eligible to drink in America, and conqueror of half of the entire known world by age 26 .... the historical accounts of Alexander the Great's imperial military campaigns ... and its enduring legacy centuries later. A man who truly belongs to history.

Not even Napoleon, Douglas MacArthur, or General Patton could match the military legacy of Alexander the Great. Both Alexander's youth and his zeal created a legend that is unrivaled.

Quick and to the point

The idea is to cut-and-paste segments from classical biographers into a relatively cohesive narrative of Alexander's life and exploits. Over all, the project comes off fairly well. It reads quickly, hitting all the expected the highlights. A nice sampling of the "original" sources; a short book that would serve well as an introduction to the topic.

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Alexander the Great

As with all history, one never knows all, one can only assume, because, one was never there, or so we think.

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