Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Decadence
Review: Peter Green is such a wonderful presence in the stale world of academic history departments, that it's hard to believe so many people are so sour on this viable and cogent interpretation of Alexander. What I mean is, he could write that Alexander was Jesus and it would be interesting to hear it from Green. Fortunately, however, Green is a rigorous scholar, and I'm not sure where the animosity is justified toward his comprehensively nasty, skeptical reading of Alexander. It is an absolutely necessary viewpoint to have put forth on the mysterious boy wonder, and if you really want to think about Alexander, you need to hear this stuff. At the very least, it will make you re-think, very hard, your prior judgments perhaps garnered from Arrian and Plutarch (as mine were). Do not misunderstand me here, I was often dubious about a lot of what Green was saying, but the fact is, what he was saying is backed up by as much evidence as what I would prefer to believe, and studying history seriously is about swallowing those bitter pills that cure you of delusions, not bolster them. It is wrong to say that Green portrays himself as some martyr for brutal truth. The truth he is portraying is brutal indeed, but as he says in Alexander to Actium, every time he returns to Alexander, his tyrannical nature is re-confirmed for him. I.e., Green sees Alexander this way, he doesn't act like he sees Alexander this way to "shock" people. It's rather presumptuous, anyway, to attack a man's motives when you don't like the book he wrote.
But that by the way. This Alexander of Green's is the purest practitioner of Reelpolitik imaginable; no act of generosity, as reported by Arrian (e.g.), is left unquestioned; but please note that no act of barbarity either, as reported by Curtius (e.g.), is left without a searching for practical motivations. Green is especially good on the Philotas and Parmenion affair; and his explorations of the strange decisions of Alexander in the Gedrosian desert are all worth considering.
And on top of all this, this book is a smashing read from start to finish, almost impossible to put down. When you leave, you not only miss the old bastard Alexander, but good old Mr. Green as well.
See also his book on the Greco-Persian Wars (with his reading of Themistocles). It is just as masterful and far more optimistic.
Rating: 
Summary: leaves you wanting MORE
Review: A good book for overview of subject. I read it several years ago when I was devouring everything I could get my hands on to do with the subject matter.
I give it a 4-star rating for it's bibliography and for the author's modesty when he suggests that it is a subject requiring exhaustive and on-going enquiry. Also has excellent maps.
The work itself is broad in its scope a tour-de-force in this regard, but so too are many other works e.g., Hammond, Bosworth, Badian,Fox, Renault etc.. etc...To gain the most benefit from such a work further reading will make the study of this worthy subject in history much more enjoyable and worthwhile.
Perhaps Hammond's "The history of the Macedonian state"(?) would be a good companion to this book....
If you really want to get into it start with the ancient sources, the most accessable are Arrian and Plutarch. They may be a little difficult and enigmatic but you MUST read as much as you can because all authors on the subject of Alexander will refer to these two sources time and time again.
Rating:
Summary: Rich and detailed biography
Review: Alexander was an enigmatic figure, to say the least. Peter Green provides us with a fabulously detailed, if somewhat dry--though often quite funny--account of his life. It is a very scholarly work; cross-referenced, annotated like mad and full of esoteric French and Latin idioms with English words I had to look-up in my UNABRIDGED dictionary. Still, you get the sense of a real person behind this legend--and it is fascinating, to say the least. Some repetitious language, combined with a cast of characters that would leave Pynchon scratching his head (Green himself acknowledges the frustration caused by so many duplicate names) make it a little hard to follow sometimes, but the narrative is strong and cohesive. I would have really appreciated a larger number of more detailed maps, since a few of the sites the book makes reference to aren't marked (a pipe-dream, I'm sure, since history itself seems to have swallowed a great deal of that information). The battle-plan graphics for Alexander's major confrontations were helpful in visualizing the scene set by Green's exposition. I recommend this book for anyone who wants a comprehensive study of the man who aspired to be a god.
Rating:
Summary: Surpasses All Other Available Alexander Biographies
Review: As if conquering the known world sources weren't enough to accomplish, Green's masterpiece dually succeeds in its ability to personify one of history's greatest conquerors with candor and exacting detail.
"Alexander of Macedon" is a fitting book for both aficionados of classic Greek antiquity and the layman alike, providing thorough detail that is eloquently written so armchair adventurers will take great delight in reading this work. Green complies multiple maps and used nearly 100 pages (that's right, a hundred PAGES) of sources to construct the rise, conquest, and fall of Alexander the Great.
Starting during the reign of Philip II, with anecdotes dating earlier still, this biography establishes the foundation on which Alexander solidified his empire, subdued mainland Greece prior to setting out for Asia, and recounts with great alacrity the battles Alexander won on the road to conquering Darius III's vast empire.
Brilliant--5 Stars!
Rating: 
Summary: A Well-Written Tabloid.
Review: Few stories from antiquity have been exhausted like that of Alexander The Great. The guy at least deserves the title of "Great" for the fact that more than 3,000 years after his death we are still debating his life, legacy and character. Peter Green jumps into the argument with another book that attempts to give us a "new" look at Alexander's life, what his "Alexander Of Macedon" eventually is is another take on views shared by professors such as Harvard's Badian which try to judge Alexander with more "clear" views suited to our times. The problem here is that Alexander The Great lived in an era much different from our own, consider that the Greeks expressed the importance of philosophy, reading and knowledge in general as a society, today we express the importance of getting home on time for the Super Bowl. Unlike Robin Lane Fox, who's towering work "Alexander The Great" remains the best of the Alexander biographies, Green dismisses a lot of clear evidence and decides to give us something "new" by simply messing up the image of Alexander into that of some murderous conqueror or deranged dictator. It's as if Green, like Paul Cartledge, simply turns the positive into negative so it feels "fresh." He also feels appalled by tactics in ancient Macedon that today would seem barbaric but back then were the norm. The simple truth is you cannot judge a man like Alexander by the standards of our time, today we live in a world where idealism is being scorned or called "war-mongering" and heroism seems cartoonish or unrealistic, a guy like Alexander The Great would naturally feel out of place in today's world (I can just imagine Michael Moore walking around ancient Macedon, writing a rabid attack on Alexander and Philip). However, I cannot call Green some kind of unskilled writer, he actually has a very vivid, readable way of expressing his viewpoints and the book at least doesn't suffer from horrible craftsmanship. But I do not recommend it for those who are barely being introduced to Alexander, instead I recommend the more skillful works "Alexander The Great" by Robin Lane Fox and "The Nature Of Alexander" by Mary Renault.
Rating:
Summary: The Best on Alexander the Great
Review: Green does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Alexander the Great, the man, his life and times. Great read.
Good job of integrating as a base Phillip's life and times into what made Alexander "tick."
Especially liked the way he handled Alexander's psyche juxtaposed against key battles and people/land conquered. It's been several years since I've read any thing on Alexander. Green's narrative style made for a relative fast read, not too heavy, however a fair amount of rich detail regarding various characters and places. His style was engrossing, needed to frequently refer to maps of the area, not only provided by the book, but also modern day geography to get a better handle on relationships with present day nations/people. Though separate by 2300 years, there is still lots of relevancy between the Eastern Mediterranean to India geopolitical area of today with that of Alexander's time. Recommend the book to anyone looking to gain an understanding of Alexander and the times with which he lived.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, well documented, educational account!
Review: Green's work on Alexander, begins with the legends about his conception, the family and culture he was born into, his early education (I learned alot here about how small the Greek world was in relation to the great minds of the era), his rise to power, the intrigue, and ultimately the military genius of such a young man.Green does an excellent job of explaining what is known as fact, what is conjecture and what the competing opinions are. He takes historical data, legends and myths and weaves them into a comprehensive study of a historical Alexander who at times was bigger than even his legends and at times was much smaller. Green provides enough information to comprehend the world in which Alexander lived, which makes understanding the man easier. It is truly amazing to read about these events so long ago in such a refreshing style. It amazed me at times how much Alexander's campaigns sounded like accounts of the U.S. Civil war or other "recent" military events. Alexander and Green's masterful study of the man are both GREAT!
Rating:
Summary: Beyond excellent
Review: I have read, perhaps 15 biographies for Alexander. This one is by far, the most lucid, detailed, well written, organized (ex:footnotes taking you forward and back to plot points)and explanatory. Explanatory in then sense that the author takes into account several behavioral models that the historical sources give us and paints the picture without negative bias or hero worship. He doesn't overload his points, he describes the behavior well as he stays in historical context keeping you infinitely interested in following Alexander and the Diadochi into to India and back. In addition, as a military historian I found his deft handling of the Issus issue well reasoned and informed, and no less than admirable for laying it all out without forcing us to the brook of his own conclusion. His explanation of the Macedonian royal house and its Fuedal environs was well done and welcome, as it is usually brushed over in other works........ Altogether a fresh and welcomed perspective for an enigmatic figure.
Rating:
Summary: A First Class Historical Biography
Review: I have, in the wake of Oliver Stone's Alexander, been reading Peter Green's biography of Alexander. I highly recommend this book for the wonderful writing of Mr. Green. He has a way of writing that is never dry and has a great turn of phrase that makes reading everything he has written of great interest. His outstanding writing ability is a reflection of Mr. Green's early literary writing in historical fiction. One wants to read each sentence in this biography. The book is simply divided into ten chapters and illustrated with several maps and diagrams.
This book is essentially the 1974 edition with updates that bring in current scholarship. Certainly, there is still a lot of speculation about Alexander, particularly concerning his death in Babylon. In his preface, Mr. Green states that he was wrong about some of his conclusions and had provided footnotes to make his new points. His revisions came after his monumental history of the Hellenistic period - Alexander to Actium - which gave him a greater perspective on Alexander himself. This biography has all that anyone would want when approaching ancient history. Mr. Green discusses the ancient sources and modern historians, such as Tarn, who have made significant contributions to what we know about Alexander. He has the critical eye necessary when examining critical events, such as the presumed plot against Alexander involving Parmenio's son Philotas.
One could not ask for a better written or more insightful book into the life and times of Alexander III of Macedon. This is a fascinating and probing book that remains fresh.
Rating:
Summary: The Finest Biography on Alexander
Review: It has been thirty years since Peter Green wrote his masterful biography of Alexander the Great. I first read this great book when I was in 9th Grade doing a report on Alexander. Years later I am still captivated by the thoroughness and detail that Green gives to Alexander. What makes this book great is not just the immense amount of information that Green has presented. Professor Green whisks the reader away to the time of Philip and Alexander, and gives a excellent portrayal of the friction between Greece and Macedon at the time, until King Philip took power and set the stage for Alexander's conquests. This book also contains an amazing number of characters. From Aristotle to Parmenio, Green throws in the players who shaped Alexander's life. The only problem with this is that many of the characters have the same name, and it was hard for me to sort out the names. Green's biography almost reads like a novel, and is full of action and romance. Peter Green has written the best biography of Alexander. Hopefully, this fine book will be the definitive biography of the young man who conquered two million miles of territory and brought Greece, Persia, and India together.
|
