Scan barcode
sambailey's review against another edition
3.0
I usually don't care for military history but this was a surprisingly engaging narrative of the aftermath of Alexander's death.
jenmat1197's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of Alexander The Great. He died at the age of 32 and left two heirs. His son - who was a baby at the time of his death - and his brother - who was mentally challenged. However,six of Alexander's generals fought for the right to the throne. The book covers from 323 BC to 308 BC and weaves the story of how these generals tried to chose sides, figure out who they were going to support, and ultimately take over instead.
This was a pretty good book. I know very little about Alexander The Great, and definitely nothing about the time right after his death. I did not know that Aristotle was Alexander's tutor when he was young. It is a well written book and does a good job recapping certain characters just when you are feeling a little lost. The story moves at a good pace, and as the authro describes the people and their personalities, you are pulled into Greek history and mythology. If you only have a small understanding about this part of the ancient world, then your knowledge will grow quite a bit with this book.
This was a good one.
This was a pretty good book. I know very little about Alexander The Great, and definitely nothing about the time right after his death. I did not know that Aristotle was Alexander's tutor when he was young. It is a well written book and does a good job recapping certain characters just when you are feeling a little lost. The story moves at a good pace, and as the authro describes the people and their personalities, you are pulled into Greek history and mythology. If you only have a small understanding about this part of the ancient world, then your knowledge will grow quite a bit with this book.
This was a good one.
michael_k's review against another edition
A book about the events that followed Alexander the Great's death and led to the break up of his conquests and the establishment of the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Diadochi (Successors).
The book illuminates various aspects of these years of strife and highlights the personalities and stories of the most important people of the age.
It sadly ends a bit prematurely in my opinion, I think it should cover at least the first years of the kingdoms of the successors to be complete.
But it is unique in that it tells a story that seldom gets told and it is certainly well researched and written.
I found out about this book through The History Book Club here on goodreads which I totally recommend to every history lover out there. Many thanks to the club's members that organized the read and participated in the discussion.
You can watch my video review at Ex Libris 163.
The book illuminates various aspects of these years of strife and highlights the personalities and stories of the most important people of the age.
It sadly ends a bit prematurely in my opinion, I think it should cover at least the first years of the kingdoms of the successors to be complete.
But it is unique in that it tells a story that seldom gets told and it is certainly well researched and written.
I found out about this book through The History Book Club here on goodreads which I totally recommend to every history lover out there. Many thanks to the club's members that organized the read and participated in the discussion.
You can watch my video review at Ex Libris 163.
mysticbanana's review against another edition
4.0
An informational and interesting overview of the period.
Given the complexity of this period, the book is surprisingly easy to follow. I was reading casually with almost no background information on the subject and I only started to struggle to keep track in the second half. The author keeps the book highly accessible to a casual audience.
Given the complexity of this period, the book is surprisingly easy to follow. I was reading casually with almost no background information on the subject and I only started to struggle to keep track in the second half. The author keeps the book highly accessible to a casual audience.
eserafina42's review against another edition
4.0
A very readable retelling of all the maneuvering following the unexpected and premature death of Alexander the Great, as his closest followers and family members fought for power and control of his empire.
simonmee's review against another edition
5.0
"He had begun his time in power by killing his own men under the feet of elephants and ended it by killing them in the maws of crocodiles"
An excellent narrative of a relatively obscure period of history.
An excellent narrative of a relatively obscure period of history.
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
I didn’t rate this because honestly it felt like a textbook of information about a figure we barely talked about in my history classes growing up. It doesn’t mean this was a poor book, but I saw this as a secondary source for those that are highly invested in ancient history.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
Refreshingly academic but surprisingly short—over a third of the book is occupied with the bibliography and references.