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Amazon.co.uk Review
Product Description
Michael Wood retraces Alexander the Greats amazing journey from Greece to India, searching for the truth behind the legend and experiencing the tremendous scale of his achievements.
Using the ancient historians as his guides, Wood follows Alexanders journey as closely as possible, crossing deserts and rivers, from Turkey to war-torn Afghanistan. As the journey progresses, he recreates the drama of Alexanders epic marches and bloody battles. All along the way he finds proof of the survival of the legends surrounding Alexander, a leader whose life has excited the worlds imagination for the 2,000 years. 'Wood tells a glorious story with some very dark shadows.' New York Times 'Wood is a perceptive, entertaining and enthusiastic companion.' Sunday Times 'Wood is a lively storyteller.' The Washington Post
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It has to be said that this book is rather thin, and I was often left feeling that some of the details had been glossed over, perhaps in an effort to appeal to a wider audience.
It's very interesting to read about some of the facts that Wood uncovered on his journey, and some of the Alexander legends that have been preserved by local people brought the story to life very well, but perhaps Wood was too influenced by local people who regard Alexander as a murderous devil, as his description of Alexander focusses far too much on his atrocities, alcoholism and egotism to the detriment of his generalship. Clearly, Alexander was a despicable tyrant, but his military achievements were enormous, and didn't get the attention they deserved here.
On the whole, the book is enjoyable, and well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the subject, particularly if it's the first book on Alexander that you read. However, I was disappointed in how far short of the author's other work this book fell. Michael Wood is a gifted writer with an ability to bring his subject to life, and he is clearly a fine historian, but I wonder if this book was written to a tight deadline. I recommend "In Search of the Trojan War" far more than "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great".
As history, the book is weaker, the military side of the campaigns is very understated, although the attempted psychological profiles of Alexander and Hephaistion are surely not too wide of the mark.
I sometimes had the feeling that Wood considered his own voyage to be almost as remarkable achievement as Alexander's; and there was a general sense of disapproval of drinking and violence which in the columns of the Guardian or in a BBC book is surely not out of place, but considering the norms of the Hellenistic age should perhaps be judged less censoriously.
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