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Alexander the Great : his life and his mysterious death

2019

Format:	Book
Author:	Everitt, Anthony, author.
Title:	Alexander the Great : his life and his mysterious death / Anthony Everitt.
Edition:	First edition.
Publisher, Date:	New York : Random House, [2019]
Description:	xviii, 464 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Summary:	The life of Alexander the Great took him to every corner of the ancient world. His memory and glamour persist, and his early death at thirty-three has kept him evergreen in our imaginations. But who was he in his own time? Naturally inquisitive, fascinated by science and exploration, Alexander exhibited respect for traditions as his empire grew-- yet glorified war and was known to commit acts of great cruelty. Did Alexander die of natural causes, or did his marshals, angered by his tyrannical behavior, kill him? Everitt judges Alexander's life against the criteria of his own age and considers all his contradictions. -- adapted from jacket
Subjects:	Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C. Generals -- Greece -- Biography. Greece -- History -- Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C. Greece -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.
Genre:	Biographies. Biographies. Biography. History.
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:	Alexander takes a holiday -- Goat kings -- The young apprentice -- 'The bull is wreathed' -- The lone wolf -- First blood -- Undoing the knot -- The empire strikes back -- Immortal longings -- At the house of the camel -- 'Passing brave to be a king' -- Treason! -- War without end -- A passage to India -- Show me the way to go home -- Last things -- Funeral games.
LCCN:	2018059885
ISBN:	9780425286524 hardcover 0425286525 hardcover electronic book electronic book
OCLC:	1080248550
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Library Journal Review

Everitt (performing & visual arts, Nottingham Trent Univ., England; Cicero) continues his tradition of popular biographies of classical figures, this time featuring Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE). The enjoyable and highly readable narrative spans the rise of Macedonia in the decades preceding Alexander's birth, the foundations built by his father, Philip II of Macedon, and the young conqueror's staggering successes across multiple continents. Frequent excerpts from classical authors and asides into Hellenic culture provide hooks for beginning readers to explore further. But other details will niggle at more serious readers of the period: Everitt struggles with the difference between xenia (guest-friendship rules enforced by Zeus) and philia (committed love felt between friends) and imputes too much explanatory power to erastes/eromenos relationships (a form of pederasty governed by nuanced social conventions). Yet the only significant flaw is Everitt's emphasis on speculating about Alexander's untimely and surprising death, which he considers compellingly, but his conclusions are ultimately neither novel nor substantiated better than those of other biographers, ancient or modern. VERDICT This work will appeal to fans of "Great Men" biographies, initiates in classical studies, and Everitt's numerous followers. [See Prepub Alert, 2/18/19.]--Evan M. Anderson, Kirkendall P.L., Ankeny, IA

Publishers Weekly Review

Ancient history expert Everitt (Cicero) attacks the young Macedonian king's astonishing conquests on three continents--Africa, Asia, and Europe--with relish. He starts off slow, with lots of background on family and context, but kicks things into gear when Alexander starts marching. Quick-thinking and able to learn from his mistakes, Everitt's Alexander displays a facility with tactics and strategy on a diverse array of battlefields as well as cleverly meshing Macedonian and local cultures to help him more nimbly govern his extensive empire. Everitt evenhandedly reminds readers of Alexander's failings, too, such as incredibly dysfunctional family dynamics and a penchant for self-aggrandizing claims (including being the offspring of a deity). Despite increasing paranoia and heavy drinking toward the end of his short life, the battle-scarred leader still commanded incredible loyalty from his army while understanding the boundaries of that loyalty. Everitt carefully discusses the controversy surrounding Alexander's premature death at age 32, including a convincing probable cause. This detailed account of the intriguing ancient military genius will fascinate military history readers eager to learn more about Alexander's motivation and the lifelong fearlessness that propelled him to near-mythic status. (Aug.)

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