Robin Lane Fox'e accessible and erudite life of Alexander 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, perspective, and fluent, it is a a superb example of historical scholarship and psychological insight. ( )

Once upon a time, my younger brother (aged 12) needed to read a biography for school. My other brother (17) and I (18) took it upon ourselves to drive down to a bookstore and try to find a suitable choice.

A 500-page scholarly dissection of Alexander the Great was our idea of "suitable."

Our mother intervened at that point and found something that our brother had a hope of finishing.

Fox's book is, indeed, scholarly -- sometimes to the point of tedium. Since first-hand accounts of Alexander's exploits are scarce, Fox spends a lot of time backtracking to explain the many alternative possibilities that could have happened. This is all very academically important, but it doesn't help the reader grasp the linear progression of events. On the other hand, Fox does an excellent job of describing the battles and Alexander's tactics therein. His scholarship is hard to knock. At times, he does feel like an apologist for some of Alexander's excesses, but he ultimately presents a balanced view of Alexander-the-human. It's not written vividly enough for a casual recommendation, but it's an obvious read if you're interested in the classical world. ( )

I honestly LOVED reading this book. Alexander the Great has always been a point of interest for me, and this book only made that interest grow. Robin Lane Fox did a fantastic job in writing this book and working through the mountain of information - legend and otherwise - that surrounds Alexander the Great. I didn’t feel like I could really give this 5/5 stars, though, due to the fact that my copy is the 1997 Folio Society edition. Don’t get me wrong: I love older books - the smell, seeing the author work through what information they have, and so forth. However, I feel like I would need to read an updated version to see if I’d give this book a 5/5 stars. ( )

The detail in this was dry and not very engaging. Perhaps if I had a better working knowledge of Alexander, it would have been better, but this didn't leave me wanting to learn more of this man who was such a prodigy. ( )

The detail in this was dry and not very engaging. Perhaps if I had a better working knowledge of Alexander, it would have been better, but this didn't leave me wanting to learn more of this man who was such a prodigy. ( )