sleepyboi2988's review
4.0
Very good biography of Alexander the Great. Brings a lot of questions and speculations to the forefront while trying to walk the middle road about the man himself and his character. The author does a good job of maintaining his middle ground, not going into the 'Romantic Perfect Alexander' nor giving into the 'Evil Hitler-esque Alexander'. I would say though this book is not for beginners looking to learn about Alexander, it is written out of chronological order. Some parts are in order, others are glossed over but revisited later etc. I think one would need to have a good idea already of Alexanders life, times, and campaigns before delving into this book so they are not confused.
kayoft's review
4.0
Definitely like reading a history book, with fascinating tidbits & new/different perspectives included. Good to round out my perceptions of this iconic historical figure with added information.
alexinnit's review against another edition
4.0
An informative if occasionally repetitive compendium of Alexander the Great, truly a remarkable historical figure who will be remembered for centuries to come.
spacestationtrustfund's review
2.0
I've read some "books" that originated as blog posts or speeches, and often they just feel awkward, because they were created for a certain medium—be that an online blog or a TED talk—and forced into an entirely different medium. It's the same reason why novelisations of films don't tend to be very popular, or why exact adaptations of books rarely make successful films, or why it's functionally impossible to adapt Les Misérables to screen—the medium complements the message.
This book originated as a series of lectures by the author, Paul Anthony Cartledge, which is why it reads like a series of lectures instead of a book. The organisation is incredibly discomfiting, kind of like having a film stretched out into four seasons of television—there's repetition at odd places, the conclusions of each section are weird, and the overall effect doesn't have a central thesis so much as a series of, well, term papers to be written. This would probably be a good book to get your hands on if you were studying under Cartledge at Cambridge U, but everyone else can probably skip this one with impunity.
This book originated as a series of lectures by the author, Paul Anthony Cartledge, which is why it reads like a series of lectures instead of a book. The organisation is incredibly discomfiting, kind of like having a film stretched out into four seasons of television—there's repetition at odd places, the conclusions of each section are weird, and the overall effect doesn't have a central thesis so much as a series of, well, term papers to be written. This would probably be a good book to get your hands on if you were studying under Cartledge at Cambridge U, but everyone else can probably skip this one with impunity.
vaderbird's review
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
bahnree's review
3.0
I hate the way this book is organized and I dislike all of the repetition. I blame both of these problems on the fact he reworked and rewrote a bunch of lectures.
There is some very excellent salty commentary, though, and the supplementary materials in the back are A+.
There is some very excellent salty commentary, though, and the supplementary materials in the back are A+.
nwhyte's review
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2765903.html
This is an interesting but somewhat frustrating biography of Alexander the Great. It assumes a better knowledge on the part of the reader than I could summon up from my memories of L. du Garde Peach's Labybird Book on the subject more than forty years ago, hanging a structure of chapters each addressing different themes of Alexander's short life, which necessarily means that the same incidents get cited over and over again from much the same angle. (Alexander as leader, Alexander's sexuality, Alexander as a Greek, Alexander as a Persian ruler, Alexander as a living god among men, etc.) The most interesting chapter was the last, in which Cartledge looks at the difficulties of working out exactly what happened given the diversity of the sources - it reminded me a bit of the digressions on De Selby in The Third Policeman, only for real. I guess I should let fiction fill in where fact is lacking, and finally get to grips wwith Mary Renault.
This is an interesting but somewhat frustrating biography of Alexander the Great. It assumes a better knowledge on the part of the reader than I could summon up from my memories of L. du Garde Peach's Labybird Book on the subject more than forty years ago, hanging a structure of chapters each addressing different themes of Alexander's short life, which necessarily means that the same incidents get cited over and over again from much the same angle. (Alexander as leader, Alexander's sexuality, Alexander as a Greek, Alexander as a Persian ruler, Alexander as a living god among men, etc.) The most interesting chapter was the last, in which Cartledge looks at the difficulties of working out exactly what happened given the diversity of the sources - it reminded me a bit of the digressions on De Selby in The Third Policeman, only for real. I guess I should let fiction fill in where fact is lacking, and finally get to grips wwith Mary Renault.