Alexander the Greatest?

March 18, 2008 5:20 PM

What is the one book should I read about Alexander the Great?

I'm sure there are several great books, but unfortunately, I am currently mortal.

posted by broady to writing & language (12 comments total)

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault. It's a novel, so it doesn't have to count as your one book.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:35 PM on March 18

Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox is well regarded.
posted by wannalol at 6:20 PM on March 18

Nice call Countess Elena, that's the first book that came to mind.
posted by TorontoSandy at 7:04 PM on March 18

This is secondhand, but Dad the Emeritus Historian of Graeco-Roman Egypt has always said nice things about Peter Green's Alexander of Macedon. Fictionwise, Renault's Alexander trilogy--Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy, and Funeral Games--is worth reading, although The Persian Boy won't do it for you if you're interested in the battles (seeing as how the narrator, Alexander's lover Bagoas, is usually hanging around in the nearest tent, castle, or fort, waiting for Alexander to come back). Reading Renault together with Green will probably cause fatal cognitive dissonance, though.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:32 PM on March 18

Nthing The Persian Boy, although reading it will mean that forevermore, whenever you read or watch any nonfiction or mainstream-oriented fiction account of Alexander, a little voice in the back of your head will wail, "But where's Bagoas?"

If you're okay with that, then go for it!
posted by bettafish at 7:43 PM on March 18

Nthing The Persian Boy, although reading it will mean that forevermore, whenever you read or watch any nonfiction or mainstream-oriented fiction account of Alexander, a little voice in the back of your head will wail, "But where's Bagoas?"

Believe it or not, some early cable network asked my father to serve as historical adviser on a prospective miniseries based on The Persian Boy. (Dad: "?!" Network: "Uh, tastefully.")

Back on topic: I forgot to mention Beyond Renault, which is devoted entirely to novels about Alexander the Great & features a ton of useful links.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:50 PM on March 18

The Anabasis by Arrian is the way to go. Here's a good page explaining why.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:30 PM on March 18 [1 favorite]

Seconding Peter Green for a history--it's nice and comprehensive. You could also dip into Arrian's The Campaigns of Alexander, if you're into the military history aspect of things. I remember the translation in that Penguin Classics edition as being very readable, and Arrian is fun if you like learning about battles.
posted by paleography at 9:34 PM on March 18

Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army
posted by dragonsi55 at 7:10 AM on March 19

I found this thread late, and there are great suggestions already. I just wanted to chime in to say that, while Robin Lane Fox's book (linked in this comment) is widely regarded as the best biography, I found it to be horrendously tedious and pedantic. The biggest thing that bugged me about it was the incredibly dated and endlessly circuitous language used by the author. He's stuffy-old-Oxford-Don, and not in a good way. He blathers on in Tolkienesque levels of torturously pedantic derail.

However, to my modern sensibilities, the worst thing was his continual circling back to the whole 'Alexander was into boys' deal. Dude, I get it, you're all hippy-skippy free-love and 1974-openminded about homosexuality, and I'm okay with that but FOR GOD'S SAKE GET OVER IT ALREADY!

Anyway, thanks for the thread, I am now off to do some more reading about one of my favourite historical heroes.
posted by lonefrontranger at 11:15 AM on March 19

While Persian Boy is great, I'd definitely start with Renault's non-fiction book on Alexander, The Nature of Alexander. In it she talks about the research for her books (and also recommends Arrian as the most reliable Greek source--unlike Plutarch, who was the E! True Hollywood Story of biographers).

Fair warning, though: it caused me to cry on a tour bus in Athens. Partly for Mr. the Great, but mostly for this poor lesbian nurse, Mary Renault, who lived most of her life in exile in South Africa, and clearly belonged in a toga and a chariot headed for Babylon.
posted by crookedneighbor at 11:15 AM on March 19

Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army was written by Don Engels. When I was in grad school, the rumor was that when Oliver Stone called Engels to serve as an adviser on his Alexander the Great movie, Engels told him to eff off.
posted by Coyote at the Dog Show at 3:54 PM on March 19