Alexander the Great by Paul

¶ … Alexander the Great by Paul Cartledge. Specifically, it will contain a book report on the content of the book. This biography of Alexander is more than a simple biography. The author attempts to get inside the mind of Alexander and speculates what motivated the great military leader. The author's main points in this biography were to delve deeper into the man Alexander than previous biographies had, including many of the extraordinary achievements Alexander accomplished during his lifetime. He notes in the Preface, "I have attempted to address that achievement both in its own terms (including some tentative probing into Alexander's deep psyche) and in terms of its subsequent impact, which continues to this day..." (Cartledge, 2004, p. 9). In addition, the author notes that he will center on Alexander's great passion for hunting game, both "human as well as animal" (Cartledge, 2004, p. 10), and how it helped contribute to his career and fame.

The main historical figure in this biography is Alexander the Great, as most readers would imagine. The biography covers his life, but mostly discusses his motivations and accomplishments, and what motivated him to continue to conquer other lands. However, the author does weave short but compelling descriptions of other conquers who almost reached the status of Alexander, such as Julius Caesar, so other great leaders of the epoch do make at least an appearance in the book, which helps add to Alexander's stature and overall influence to the age.

The author also includes the opinions of early historians, which helps add to the depth and detail of the work. The author also spends nearly an entire chapter outlining the military forces Alexander commanded, and their differing details and assignments. This helps make the discussion of battles later in the book more effective, and adds another layer of detail as well. Alexander did not conquer his enemies alone, and including detailed information on his troops, their loyalties (and dissention) helps hold the reader's attention and interest.

The historical situation taking place throughout the biography is the timeline of Alexander's career as a ruler and conqueror. It is not simply a chronological look at his life, however. The author utilizes geography, including terrain and climate on Alexander's conquests, and follows the conqueror on his journey through Asia, Eastern Europe, and beyond. The author gives an excellent historical background as part of the book, from myth and culture to the Athenians, Spartans, and other foes Alexander would encounter during his conquests. He discusses Alexander's education and just about every aspect of life at the time that could someday influence Alexander and his motives for conquest. Thus, the historical situation is detailed and extensive, which helps the reader come to understand Alexander's world as well as Alexander the man himself. This background makes the book more interesting, but sometimes seems to bog down the book in extra details that do not make sense until combined with later chapters. The detail is necessary and effective, but combining some of it with the actual chapters where it applies might have made the book a little more cohesive for this reader.

Ultimately, the historical situation in this book is the situation Alexander himself sets in motion. From the beginning of his conquests, he sets out to amass an Empire like no other before on Earth. When he was done, the Persian Empire stretched from the Middle East to Asia and parts of Europe. Unfortunately, Alexander was not as good at administrating his Empire as he was in conquering it, and it began to crumble even before he died at the age of thirty-two. His death left the Empire and much of the world in turmoil, and would lead to the eventual break-up of the Empire he fought so hard to create. Thus, the historical context surrounding the book is a world in constant motion and chaos. Empires were emerging and disappearing, and so were influential world leaders. This was an amazing time in history, and the author shows just how amazing it was by illustrating the flux and uncertainty in the world as Alexander took over new lands, and then died before he really had a chance to prove his leadership and ruling abilities.

There were many facts and assertions in this book that I had not heard or read before. First, I learned that Alexander was a great leader, which I knew but learned far more detail than I ever had before. In addition, I learned what an influence he still has on many of the peoples of the world today, who still view him as a hero or even a God. The author writes, "Even in Greece today sailors in distress are said to be confronted by a water-nymph who demands to know 'Where is the great Alexander?'" (Cartledge, 2004, p. 40). I had no idea of Alexander's influence even today, and was surprised to learn so many people look at him as such a commanding figure in their modern lives.

Another surprising fact is the author's contention that the Macedonians were not Greek. The author writes, but actually many Greeks in Alexander's day were of the view that the Macedonians were either not very, or not entirely, or not at all Greek" (Cartledge, 2004, p. 45). This is extremely surprising, since it seems most people simply think of Alexander as Greek, and as spreading the Greek Empire around the world with his conquests. He backs up his allegations with many different facts from extensive research. However, many of his ideas were quite new to me and quite startling as well.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the book, or what I learned from the book, was the importance of hunting in society, and how it related to what Alexander did later in life. I would not have made the connection between hunting and what Alexander did, and yet, when the author did it, it seemed more than obvious. It is interesting that early historians note his disgust with athletes, while he supported hunting and fighting, instead (Cartledge, 2004, p. 222). The author also states that Alexander's hunting prowess made it into folklore, and all of this was information that was new and unique to me. A good history book will not rehash previous histories, and this one does not. It gave me much new and interesting information, which made it easier to read and keep reading.

The viewpoint of this author is certainly unique from anything I have ever read on Alexander before. His contention that Alexander's preoccupation (or obsession) with hunting really sets this book apart and makes in unique in the biographies I have read. It mirrored the text in some ways, but for the most part, it is a very unique book, and a unique look at Alexander and his motivations. It was also a different view of history. Many historians only look at the facts and details of a person or historic event, while this author attempted to go beyond concrete facts, and discover what motivated Alexander in his own mind. His theories will probably never be proven, but his attempt at analyzing Alexander's mind showed there are many ways to look at history and historic figures, and that was probably the biggest thing I found interesting and helpful in this book.

The book was quite interesting to read, for the most part. The author included detailed maps of Alexander's movements and battle plans, which helped bring much of Alexander's activities to real life. Perhaps the most interesting part was the author's look into Alexander's lifelong love of hunting, and how it may have played a role in his eventual need to continually conquer new lands. The author notes that much of what he believes is pure conjecture. He writes, "We can judge Alexander's career only from the outside, in other words" (Cartledge, 2004, p. 82). While much of his theories are conjecture, it is quite clear from his Appendix, Bibliography, and Notes that he has conducted extensive research into Alexander and his life, and bases his theories on this exhaustive research. His theories may be conjecture, but it is clear he bases them on much historical fact, and so, they are easier to believe.