- Taschenbuch: 617 Seiten
- Verlag: University of California Press; Auflage: Reprint (5. Oktober 1992)
- Sprache: Englisch
- ISBN-10: 0520071662
- ISBN-13: 978-0520071667
- Größe und/oder Gewicht: 2,1 x 1,4 x 0,3 cm
- Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 4.7 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (20 Kundenrezensionen)
- Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 409.818 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)
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Produktbeschreibungen
Amazon.com
There's no shortage of biographies available on Alexander the Great, but Peter Green's Alexander of Macedon is one of the finest. The prose is crisp and clear, and within a few pages readers become absorbed in the world that made Alexander, and then the story of how Alexander remade it. Green writes, "Alexander's true genius was as a field-commander: perhaps, taken all in all, the most incomparable general the world has ever seen. His gift for speed, improvisation, variety of strategy; his cool-headedness in a crisis; his ability to extract himself from the most impossible situations; his mastery of terrain; his psychological ability to penetrate the enemy's intentions--all these qualities place him at the very head of the Great Captains of history."
From Kirkus Reviews
A superb character study that's a massive expansion and revision of Green's Alexander the Great (1978, published only in Great Britain as a trade paperback). Like Robert Graves, Green (Classics/Univ. of Texas at Austin) can make the ancient world and its people come alive. Within a few pages, the reader knows that Alexander's father was devoted to wine, women, song, power, and young boys, and that Macedonia, typically perceived by us from the Hellenic view as backward and brutish, was most modern in being the first genuinely united nation in this part of the world. And barbaric: Alexander, his life saved by his nurse's brother, later killed the man in a drunken quarrel; his army purified itself before battle by marching between two halves of a slaughtered dog. Great names abound--Darius (utterly defeated), Demosthenes (casually brushed aside), Heracles (an ancestor), a sunbathing Diogenes (asking Alexander not to block the sun), and Aristotle (racist, dandy, manipulator, and xenophobe). The book is a thicket of intrigues, battles, treaties made and broken, and names that can't possibly be remembered. But it drives forward, clarified by Green's easy command of the material and saturated with his sense of that gorgeous, raging, brilliant time in which an implacable golden demigod rammed Hellenism forever into history and legend. The scale of Alexander's life is marvelously conveyed: For example, rebuked as a child by a tutor for wasting incense, when Alexander conquered the spice-trade centers years later, he sent the tutor 18 tons of myrrh, frankincense, etc., making him rich as a king. A magnificent biography--and an unflinching study of Realpolitik in the ancient world. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Format:Taschenbuch
This book is absolutely brilliant--one of the best I've everread on any topic. If this were Siskel and Ebert, it would rate twothumbs, up, way up! To be sure, things get off to a slow start, as the author lays out the setting, introduces a large cast of characters, some of whom had the same name, so it was hard to keep up at times. But after the first several dozen pages, the story just takes off and you can't put the book down. The author does a superb job of putting you right there--I really felt like I was along for the ride clear across Asia to India and back again. But what clearly distinguishes this work is Green's dissection of Alexander. He refutes the traditional description of Alexander as an elightened civilizing force spreading Western culture. It turns out the enemy Persian Empire was a sophisticated, enlightened establishement in its own right--so much so that Greeks in Asia Minor decline to join Alexander's crusade--they've got it good under the Persians. Alexander himself is a ruthless megalomaniac who stamps out anyone he thinks is standing in his way. That said, Green judges him the greatest military commander in history and provides the goods to prove, i.e. wins under every consceivable circumstance. The descriptions of the major operations and battles--Tyre, Issis, Arbela, etc.--are first rate. I also liked the way Green wove in modernist terms (the artillery, the propaganda section, etc.) to show that certain principles and concepts are timeless. In short, this is an absolutely brilliant historical biography. Two thumbs up, way up!
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Format:Taschenbuch
This book is great because it is history written for the common man, not history written to impress one's peers. From page one, we are immersed in ancient Macedonian politics and a way of life which was in many ways quite different from our own. There, murder wasn't necessarily shunned as a way to political advancement, (actually, nothing new there) and Green makes a compelling case that Alexander was, if not involved, at least aware of the murderous plot against his father, Philip. How this comes about is remarkable, and intensely readable, with drunkeness and homosexual rape as the precipitating factors in the plot.
We then follow the great Alexander as he first subjugates then makes an uneasy peace with Greece, and fights his way into Asia, Egypt, Persia and India. I was always under the impression that he reached India almost as a last gasp--in fact, several huge battles were fought there.
Alexander was intensely religious, worshipping and sacrificing to his gods at every turn. The decision to reduce Tyre, in fact, was largely made as the result of the Tyrian's refusal to allow him to worship at their shrine. In what is perhaps the most compelling passage of the book, we read how Alexander built a mole, or bridge, to the walled island fortress, while undergoing regular and sustained attack from the Tyrian navy. After six months of this he was able to get his siege engines into place and bombard the city. Finally, after the mole reached the city, his soldiers were let loose, and Tyre was completely and utterly destroyed. The surviving 30,000 or so were sold into slavery, and 2,000 men and boys of military age were crucified. Crucified! Alexander then marched in, and indignantly worshipped at their shrine.
We never lose sight of Alexander the man, who was subject to fits of rage. Cold rage, as the author points out, and God help you, friend or foe, if his rage was directed at you. But Alexander lost sight of himself. After winning his first great battle against the Persians, for example, and commenting on their captured riches, he wryly remarked, "So this is how a king lives, eh?" But soon, after achieving success after success, he began acting the part himself, wearing Persian finery, fancying himself as chosen by the gods, and, most importantly, creating the resentment in his lieutenants that ultimately lead to his fall.
Alexander's is a fascinating story to begin with, and is handled expertly by Green. This is history at its most exciting, and I strongly recommend this book, to even those with only the most casual interest in the subject matter.
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Format:Taschenbuch
Cast in the British academic style, this book is well-documented, opinionated, erudite, and witty. Christopher Hitchens' endorsement is telling: if you like Hitchens, you'll like Peter Green. It focuses almost exclusively on Alexander's life (which largely consisted of campaigns across the Persian Empire) and his associates. Hence, unlike some biographies, it does not give an extended overview of the customs, economy, or general conditions of his era. If you strongly prefer social history to military history, this book may not be for you. Two minor criticisms: First, he sometimes warmly recommends the positions set out by other scholars in works not accessible to most readers. A summary of their positions would have been nice. Second, he makes almost no reference to, or use of, non-European sources.
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The Finest Biography on Alexander
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. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 2. März 2000 von "rebelunion"
masterful!
What a fantastic book! Peter Green makes the history of Alexander the Great sing! Not only will he tell you what we know, but also why we know it. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 13. Dezember 1999 von greglor
An excellent work of biography and history
This is a truly excellent biography of a near-mythical figure. First of all, this book provides a thorough review of the known history of Alexander the Great - I have no idea how... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 4. Dezember 1999 von Hubcap
A fine book about Alexander's triumphs and life.
I bought this book without knowing much about Alexander's triumphs in the ancient world. I always knew about the legends of Alexander but not the facts. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 21. November 1999 veröffentlicht
Extensive
It's hard to miss with a biography of this eminently exciting individual's exploits. Green duly traces Alexander's career on its insane march forward with scholarly aplomb,... Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 27. September 1999 veröffentlicht
Detailed, fresh and orginal.
Having just finished a detailed research into Alexnader as a comander I found Green's work very useful. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 30. Juni 1999 veröffentlicht
A Great Account of a Complex Man
I really enjoyed this book and the unbiased perspective that Green took in telling the tale. He paints a sweeping epic of a complex man whose only goal in life was to conquer the... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 7. Juni 1999 von Todd Hancock
A well written biography that reads like an adventure novel
One of the best biographies and historical books I've read. Makes Alexander's life captivating and what is ancient history feel alive. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 15. Mai 1999 veröffentlicht
One of the finest books on Alexander
Anyone interested in Alexander should read this book. It is by far one of the best accounts of Alexander's life and accomplishments. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 22. April 1999 veröffentlicht
A Strange book.
I have read many previous books about Alexander the Great, none as strange as Peter Green's "Alexander of Macedon". Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 18. Februar 1999 veröffentlicht
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