Alexander the Great, Paul Cartledge
Alexander the Great, Paul Cartledge
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Alexander the Great
The Hunt for a New Past

Author: Paul Cartledge

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/03/2009

Synopsis

Paul Cartledge, one of the worlds foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356323 b.c.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through the myths to show why he was such a great leader. He explores our endless fascination with Alexander and gives us insight into his charismatic leadership, his capacity for brutality, and his sophisticated grasp of international politics. Alexander the Great is an engaging portrait of a fascinating man and a welcome balance to the myths, legends, and skewed history that have obscured the real Alexander.

About Paul Cartledge

Paul Cartledge has taught Greek history at Cambridge University since 1979 and is also a Fellow at Clare College. Widely acknowledged to be the world’s leading expert on the subject of Sparta and ancient Greece, he is the first A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture (2008) which focuses on the study of more than 1,000 years of Greek cultural achievements and highlights the lasting influence they continue to have on society today. In addition to having written and edited scores of articles and books, including The Spartans: An Epic History; and Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World, he is also academic consultant to the BBC and PBS for the series The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization.

Reviews

Goodreads review by T.R.

Since Alexander is my favourite historical figure in all of human history, I enjoyed this immensely. I do take issue with the structure of this book however. It goes all over the place. The timeline of events jumps back and forth in a very strange fashion. I was almost tempted to give this book four......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie

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+.......more

Goodreads review by Fred

This was my second attempt at a book about ATG. The first was Robin Lane Fox’s, which I found difficult to get into. This one was better, but I am stopping at page 168. It’s time for me to admit that I’m not interested in ATG although I feel like I should be. The sources of information about him are......more

Goodreads review by Denise

A decent enough biography, well written and very readable, though I didn't learn anything new - not surprising, given that this is more of an introduction to the subject and thus somewhat sparse in detail. Due to the author's habit of meandering back and forth through time and venturing off on tange......more

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