Robin Lane Fox's accessible and erudite life of Alexander the Great searches through the mass of conflicting evidence and legend to focus on the living actuality of the man and his experience--'It is tempting', he concludes, 'to see in Alexander the romantic's complex nature for the first time in Greek history.' Beautifully written perceptive and fluent, it is a superb example of historical scholarship and psychological insight.
Alexander the Great
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About the Author
Robin Lane Fox was the main historical advisor to Oliver Stone on his Alexander film, and took part in many of its most dramatic re-enactions. He has been University Reader in Ancient History at Oxford University since 1990 and Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at New College, Oxford, since 1977. His books and articles include major works on the relation between the pagan and early Christian religions of the Roman Empire and his forthcoming History of the Ancient World will be published by Penguin in autumn 2005.
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First Sentence
Two thousand three hundred yean ago, in the autumn of 336 B.C., the king of the Macedonians was celebrating another royal wedding. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Two thousand three hundred yean ago, in the autumn of 336 B.C., the king of the Macedonians was celebrating another royal wedding. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox has written a superb biography of one of history's most mythologised characters.
Fox never patronises his audience with his writing style but neither does he make any assumptions that the reader is pre-armed with a firm grasp of classical history. He clearly explains where he gets his sources from, who he trusts, if there are conflicting accounts and where his judgements lie.
The book relates an epic story and Fox tells it in great detail; normally, the more detail a book provides, the better but in this particular case, the book loses one star in its rating because Fox's sentences can run to great lengths and become rather muddy (I'd give it four and a half if I could). Don't let that put you off buying this book, though, as it animates quite successfully Alexander's life and times, the politics and the geography. This book is especially recommended to those of you who have Oliver Stone's film, Alexander Revisited, to which Robin Lane Fox was an advisor.
Fox never patronises his audience with his writing style but neither does he make any assumptions that the reader is pre-armed with a firm grasp of classical history. He clearly explains where he gets his sources from, who he trusts, if there are conflicting accounts and where his judgements lie.
The book relates an epic story and Fox tells it in great detail; normally, the more detail a book provides, the better but in this particular case, the book loses one star in its rating because Fox's sentences can run to great lengths and become rather muddy (I'd give it four and a half if I could). Don't let that put you off buying this book, though, as it animates quite successfully Alexander's life and times, the politics and the geography. This book is especially recommended to those of you who have Oliver Stone's film, Alexander Revisited, to which Robin Lane Fox was an advisor.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Aegean
Format:Paperback
This is "the" book for those wishing to get to grips with every detail. But I have to echo the drawbacks from previous reviewers: detailed, complex English in places, and very poor maps by today's standars: even the new 2004 edition is a essentailly a reprint from the 1970's.
Beginners would be far better off with Michael Wood's "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"; then read the original ancient sources; then this.
Beginners would be far better off with Michael Wood's "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"; then read the original ancient sources; then this.
92 of 99 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Lane Fox is a brilliant writer, whose superb execution of the English language in this book is a joy to read. One of the most realistic appraisals of Alexander's life and achievements that I have read: he dispels many of the myths surrounding the young Macedonian king that have been perpetuated by later authors - particularly the Romans. Lane Fox attacks the source material with gusto, and clearly demonstrates the bias and economy with the truth perpertrated by some of his original biographers (e.g. Ptolemy). It is fascinating to learn how the rivalries of his Successors and the conceit of Roman writers have obscured much of the truth about Alexander. Still, Lane Fox gives credit where it is due, and for anyone interested in reading about one of the greatest adventures of all time, this one is a brilliant effort.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting book
This was bought as a present for someone whose very interested in this subject, It arrived on time and I was very pleased with it.
Published 2 months ago by wend
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but too self-indulgent to be truly great
This is an improvement on the same author's Pagans and Christians: In the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jeremy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hard Work Brings Rewards
This is not an easy read as other reviewers have noted. It's "old school" history writing and may prove too much for those more accustomed to the more informal style of narrative... Read more
Published on 7 July 2010 by John Crothers
3.0 out of 5 stars
Difficult read being quite repetitive
A little disappointed as it's slow and often circular in content (unnecessarily, in my view)
Published on 4 May 2010 by MJH Chelsea
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alexander the Great
First book I've ever read on Alexander the Great and really enjoyed it. It's well written and at times reads like a novel. Read more
Published on 21 April 2010 by Mr. M. Michael
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hard Campaigning For The Casual Reader
Couple of warnings about this book: Written in 1973, albeit with some revisions since, this is still a book where the majority of the text is heading towards being 40 years old. Read more
Published on 17 April 2010 by Filthy Raider
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended - an excellent book...
Alexander has always been a fascinating figure to me. Modern society likes to compare him to Hitler and focus on the number of deaths involved in his conquest of the Persian... Read more
Published on 27 July 2009 by C. Ball
5.0 out of 5 stars
addictive
I have tried to read a few biographies of Alexander the Great. Unfortunately I was never able to get very far. Having read this book I now understand why that was... Read more
Published on 26 May 2009 by a nice guy
1.0 out of 5 stars
'Alexander the Great' - I've read better !
Alexander the Great
This book was recommended to me by the bookseller. I'd have to say that personally I was disappointed and gave up half way through. Read more
This book was recommended to me by the bookseller. I'd have to say that personally I was disappointed and gave up half way through. Read more
Published on 17 April 2009 by Mr. N. Bain
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Biography of One of the 'Great' Men of History
This is a big book in volume as well as content being over 500 pages long but Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox has contrived to make it interesting for the reader from beginning to... Read more
Published on 9 May 2008 by J. Chippindale
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