Rating: 
Summary: That proud dream that play's so subtly with a king's repose'
Review: 'Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's knee/ command the health of it?' (Shakespeare, 'Henry V'). You could think of him as the young Jedi knight who, spiritually battered by war-wounds and the loss of those he loved, finally gives in to 'the Dark Side'. I re-read this volume recently, and must admit its greatness. Hitherto I had considered the Peter Green biography ('Alexander of Macedon') the better by far of these two works, now I have to agree that this is almost the equal of the other. However, I still think Green's the better-written book. But Fox's version of Alexander is also plausible - often after presenting exactly the same evidence as Green, but with a different emphasis. This Alexander gets more and more implausible as the book advances - can the Alexander who died in Babylon, after the horrors of the Makran desert (where he lost two-thirds of his army), after the death of the beloved Hephaiston, after suffering multiple wounds (one of which nearly killed him), be the same man who set out energetic and youthful, to engage in games at the site of Troy and go on to recklessly fight the Persians at the Granicus? I do not think so - yet Fox's Alexander seems at the end to be the same 'boy scout' who started the fabulous journey. Did Alexander not confront the indisputable fact that not only could he not conquer the world, but the world is unconquerable? After the incredible victories, after the submission or death of so many eminent men, he still could not save those near him. The dissolution at the end into alcohol and death, seems to me not accidental, but inevitable. A well-researched and well-written biography, if not as lively as Green's, but one which is finely textured and highly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, beautifully written, enthralling
Review: A marvellous biography of a fascinating man. Lane Fox was taught classics at Oxford by some of the century's heavyweights - George Forest, Andrews etc... and is himself a renowned teacher. His book is ten times better than the stilted prose of most modern academics. Homer's influence, his father's legacy, the campaigns, the famous Last Plans all covered. The final few pages show a feel for a subject very very rare in modern academia.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: As someone who reads few non-fiction books, particularly biography or history, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, since I wanted to learn more about Alexander, I thought this book appeared less intimidating than others. And what a great choice! An extremely enjoyable book that reads like a good novel, and, most importantly, you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: The only Alexander biography for the general reader
Review: Biographers of Alexander the Great seem to tell us more about themselves and less about their subjects. Lane Fox is no exception and we can be thankful that he is sympathetic, enthusiastic, courageous, (he was very young when tackling this huge subject,) big minded and scholarly. Compared to A. B. Bosworth (a serious scholar, a historian without a shred of historical empathy, and a dreary lecturer) Lane Fox is pure joy. The mythical general reader will find the scholarship profound but not heavy, the story dramatic but not insincere, and the man accessible but not easy. It is Lane Fox's Alexander and Lane Fox is an aristocratic Englishman, but surely an aristocratic Englishman of Lane Fox's ilk with his martial tradition, his love of hunting, his developed sense of autochthony, and divine favor has more to tell us about Alexander than a republican Australian with a horror of bloodshed?
Rating:
Summary: Great work of a Great man
Review: I devoured "The Unauthorized Version" and "Pagans and Christians", two towering works by the same author at a later period in his life. This work on Alexander gives us a glimpse of the evolution of Fox's writing as well as his insights and conclusions on the subject which are still fresh and surprisingly valid after all these years. As usual, Fox examines and refers to numerous ancient document, customs of the times, differences in languages and somehow makes clear to the reader even the most confusing of subjects, such as the interplay between clans, tribes, family and nationalities. What is so remarkable about this writing is the universal quality of the prose along with the surprising but perfectly valid conclusions.
Many historians seem afraid to offer conjecture or opinions but Fox has deliberately gone out on a limb several times - for example, his conclusion that John, the last Gospel penned, was actually the closest to the original sources. In this book we are given a picture of the life and times of one of the most influential person in history - as much for what he stood for as what he accomplished. This is history at its finest.
Rating:
Summary: A good look at both the author and his subject
Review: I devoured "The Unauthorized Version" and "Pagans and Christians", two towering works by the same author at a later period in his life. This work on Alexander gives us a glimpse of the evolution of Fox's writing as well as his views on the subject which are still fresh and surprisingly valid after all these years. As usual, Fox examines and refers to numerous ancient document, customs of the times, differences in languages and somehow makes clear to the reader even the most confusing of subjects, such as the interplay between clans, tribes, family and nationalities. What is so remarkable about this writing is the universal quality of the prose along with the surprising but perfectly valid conclusions. Many historians seem afraid to offer conjecture or opinions but Fox has deliberately gone out on a limb several times - for example, his conclusion that John, the last Gospel penned, was actually the closest to the the original sources. In this book we are given a picture of the life and times of one of the most influential person in history - as much for what he stood for as what he accomplished. This is history at its finest.
Rating:
Summary: Great work of a Great man
Review: I devoured "The Unauthorized Version" and "Pagans and Christians", two towering works by the same author at a later period in his life. This work on Alexander gives us a glimpse of the evolution of Fox's writing as well as his insights and conclusions on the subject which are still fresh and surprisingly valid after all these years. As usual, Fox examines and refers to numerous ancient document, customs of the times, differences in languages and somehow makes clear to the reader even the most confusing of subjects, such as the interplay between clans, tribes, family and nationalities. What is so remarkable about this writing is the universal quality of the prose along with the surprising but perfectly valid conclusions.
Many historians seem afraid to offer conjecture or opinions but Fox has deliberately gone out on a limb several times - for example, his conclusion that John, the last Gospel penned, was actually the closest to the original sources. In this book we are given a picture of the life and times of one of the most influential person in history - as much for what he stood for as what he accomplished. This is history at its finest.
Rating: 
Summary: Overwelming, very detailed
Review: I'm just a casual enthusiast of history, I am not a scholar or academic in this field. I have been a huge admirer of Alexander the Great since my childhood. I thought I would read this book on his life before the movie "Alexander" came out (which was awful by the way) just to see if the film was accurate in its portrayal. I don't have nearly enough knowledge to dispute what the author wrote, whether this or that event actually happened or when a certain battle took place. The book gets a bit confusing at times since it is so detailed, but it really allows the reader to see all the power struggles and politics of the time. It's not an easy book to read, but it's very enlightening. I can see how it might be "too much" for some readers, such as myself. I felt it was a bit too indepth at times. The author does a good job at pointing out how one event may have been documented in two or more ways and usually states what really must have happened. The book also shows us a more personable side to Alexander, not just his accomplishments.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but loooonnnggg - needs better maps
Review: If you are a history buff, this is a very good "biography" of Alexander the Great. However, if you are just interested in Alexander, look for something simpler and shorter. In addition, the maps in the paperback edition are very hard to read (and there are not enough!) I found that trying to follow Alexander's route without a good series of maps to be quite a challenge.
Rating:
Summary: Fine blend of facts and interpretation
Review: In my view, Lane Fox’s book on Alexander is the finest in the field (followed by the works of Tarn and Hamilton). Reconstructing any ancient hero is always a daunting task and Lane Fox himself writes, ‘It is a naïve belief that the distant past can be recovered from written texts, but even the written evidence is scarce and often peculiar’, yet I find his picture of Alexander very sensible and convincing.
From the modern perspective Tarn can be criticized on many counts but among the writers on Alexander - Griffith, Hammond, Badian, Wilcken, Schackermeyr, Green, Engels, Bosworth - he stands as the tallest due to his deep understanding of both the West and the East. Lane Fox’s scholarship is an extension of Tarn’s and even though he is not aware of many hard facts about Palibothra, Chandragupta, or the rewriting of the altars by Asoka, his intuition carries him through. Lane Fox takes great care while addressing Indo-Iranian history and religion and a fine sense of balance prevails throughout the book. Although the discovery of Alexander's altars...dramatically changes the scenario his evaluation of Alexander still remains valid.
In the New York Review of Books Lane Fox was once harshly reprehended by Badian as having all the qualities of an Etonian aristocrat who missed the true Alexander but this can be brushed aside as a harmless fib. He was the Gardening correspondent of the Times and probably this has added that hidden dimension to his Alexander – something absent in all other works. In a sense Alexander’s breach with his compatriots had something to do with a garden (probably in Seistan) where our ancestors opted for knowledge in preference to perpetual happiness. In this garden, as the Bible tells us, there was homonoia, not only between men and women but even among other beings. On the negative side I can point to his awkward system of writing notes which only the very determined readers would be able to master. But then who else could write that there is something fishy in Diodorus’ account of Bagoas the elder’s death? This in a sense opens up a Pandora’s box. Again, to my horror, he is almost sympathetic to Harpalus.
I would recommend this book to all.
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