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batbones's review against another edition
Unfortunately irritatingly disorganised, sufficiently so to incur the impatience that stopped this reader from going beyond the first chapter. The writer obviously has a lot of interesting things to say but can't do it in a way that guides the reader along a sustained thread of thought, or breaks a chapter up into meaningful topic chunks. Would benefit from better signposting; sub-headings or sub-sub-headings would have been very helpful to indicate where the prose turns into the next corner, especially in chapter 1's discussion on the different kingdoms/empires of Alexander's day. Was a bit disorienting to read about Philip one moment and then Cyrus and then Xerxes and wondering what the next suddenly appearing topic would be and how it all hangs together.
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
4.0
Very good biography of Alexander the Great. Brings a lot of questions and speculations to the forefront while trying to walk the middle road about the man himself and his character. The author does a good job of maintaining his middle ground, not going into the 'Romantic Perfect Alexander' nor giving into the 'Evil Hitler-esque Alexander'. I would say though this book is not for beginners looking to learn about Alexander, it is written out of chronological order. Some parts are in order, others are glossed over but revisited later etc. I think one would need to have a good idea already of Alexanders life, times, and campaigns before delving into this book so they are not confused.
kayoft's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely like reading a history book, with fascinating tidbits & new/different perspectives included. Good to round out my perceptions of this iconic historical figure with added information.
alexinnit's review against another edition
4.0
An informative if occasionally repetitive compendium of Alexander the Great, truly a remarkable historical figure who will be remembered for centuries to come.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
I've read some "books" that originated as blog posts or speeches, and often they just feel awkward, because they were created for a certain medium—be that an online blog or a TED talk—and forced into an entirely different medium. It's the same reason why novelisations of films don't tend to be very popular, or why exact adaptations of books rarely make successful films, or why it's functionally impossible to adapt Les Misérables to screen—the medium complements the message.
This book originated as a series of lectures by the author, Paul Anthony Cartledge, which is why it reads like a series of lectures instead of a book. The organisation is incredibly discomfiting, kind of like having a film stretched out into four seasons of television—there's repetition at odd places, the conclusions of each section are weird, and the overall effect doesn't have a central thesis so much as a series of, well, term papers to be written. This would probably be a good book to get your hands on if you were studying under Cartledge at Cambridge U, but everyone else can probably skip this one with impunity.
This book originated as a series of lectures by the author, Paul Anthony Cartledge, which is why it reads like a series of lectures instead of a book. The organisation is incredibly discomfiting, kind of like having a film stretched out into four seasons of television—there's repetition at odd places, the conclusions of each section are weird, and the overall effect doesn't have a central thesis so much as a series of, well, term papers to be written. This would probably be a good book to get your hands on if you were studying under Cartledge at Cambridge U, but everyone else can probably skip this one with impunity.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
bahnree's review against another edition
3.0
I hate the way this book is organized and I dislike all of the repetition. I blame both of these problems on the fact he reworked and rewrote a bunch of lectures.
There is some very excellent salty commentary, though, and the supplementary materials in the back are A+.
There is some very excellent salty commentary, though, and the supplementary materials in the back are A+.