Alexander: Invincible King of Macedonia

by Peter G. Tsouras and Paul G Tsouras

Book Overview

Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), who reigned as king of Macedonia for only thirteen years, set a flame of conquest that introduced the dynamism of Hellenism to the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian worlds. Re-creating their ossified cultures, he established a standard of leadership and military conquest that the most successful of Roman emperors, medieval knights, and steppe barbarians would never truly match. Julius Caesar wept...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574886975
• ISBN13: 9781574886979
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 121 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

brilliant - intuitive - decisive

Alexander III of Macedonia - brilliant, intuitive, decisive, driven was chief, amongst many things, an outstanding commander in chief of arguably the premier military force of the ancient world. It is little wonder that Brassey included Alexander in their series (Dennis Showalter, series editor) of Military Profiles. Admittedly a biography of Alexander as a military man, Tsouras opens by showing us the forces and experiences that instructed, equipped and empowered Alexander to become a successful leader of military forces. As he does, Tsouras includes most of the standard stories told about Alexander and puts them into their historical perspective. The bulk of the book follows Alexander's exploits leading the Macedonian army as they secured their home base, conquered Persia and marched on into India and Afghanistan. Tsouras details battles and spends time detailing the ways in which Alexander managed his troops on and off the battle field. He presents in detail and with illustrations the tactics Alexander used in two significant battles. These were illustrative of Alexander's skill in leadership on the battlefield. This is a short book, easy to read and understandable. I found it well worth the time and effort spent. As a lay person to military tactics I was able to comprehend the material presented. I did find however, that many questions about Alexander, his life and times, were raised. But the answers to these belong to other books.

Best Concise Biography of Alexander the Great

I'm a hardcore Alexandrophile (having read nearly 3 dozen books about this remarkable historic figure) and I can say that this work by Peter G. Tsouras is the best concise biography of the man I've read to date. Considering that it's part of a Military Profiles series, I expected the book to be a rather dry military academia that strictly focused on Alexander's military achievements. While it's true that the focus is on the military aspects of Alexander's extraordinary life and career, I was pleasantly surprised by the broad range of Alexander's life that Tsouras covered with such clear prose and lucid writing style. Tsouras takes a very balanced view of Alexander in light of today's mudslinging between the extreme pro-Alexandrian and anti-Alexander schools of thought. Overall, Tsouras comes to a fairly positive outlook and conclusion when it comes to Alexander's achievements and legacy after having thoroughly examined both sides of the story. I also have a very positive view although I am very well aware of the mistakes Alexander had made during his life. I just do not think it's Alexander's fault that the latter day imitators who followed in his footsteps didn't realize that they didn't have his immense talents and noble intentions and only focused on his military successes of vanquishing his enemies and enjoying the spoils of the victories. Tsouras is very well aware of this as he points out that many have tried to equal or surpass Alexander but fell woefully short and simply committed atrocities on a huge scale. This is an insightful book that is chock full of interesting information and is easy to read. If you have time for only one concise biography of the greatest conqueror the world has ever known, this is the one to get. It's real history but isn't dry or overbearing with esoteric academia as so many classical history books tend to be. Tsouras also lays out the military aspects of Alexander's career in a manner both military buff and the layman can easily digest and learn from. There has never been a leader and military commander quite like Alexander the Great. Tsouras shows you why in a clear and lucid manner. I ended up finishing this book over a weekend but I expect to come back to it over and over again in the future. It's highly recommended to both serious Alexandrophiles and novices alike.

Alexander: Invicible King -- Indispensable Book

This slim, 107-page book is superbly written and obviously based on a lifetime devoted to the study of Alexander. Yet, this in-depth understanding of the man and his accomplishments does not slow down the pace of the book. Peter is able to keep the fruits of his exaustive research in a supporting role, never letting it impeed or slow the velocity of Alexander's story, which is fitting. Peter provides just enough detail to explain the importance of each of Alexander's actions and how they were achieved. This is important because I really didn't believe so much insight could be packed into such a small book. Another point, Peter firmly roots Alexander in Macedonia, with its history, politics, traditions and expectations of leadership. Quickly, the reader comes to view the situation as a Macedonian, not a Greek. This distinction is important in understanding Alexander in context of his historical period and cultural background. Given Peter's preparation, the reader will understand that Alexander could become a god in the eyes of his contemporaries, given his unsurpassed military and political accomplishments. I will leave the superlatives to Peter. Within twenty pages you will know in detail that Alexander was superbly prepared for greatness. In another twenty, how Alexander turned his excellent preparation into an unmatched string of victories. Never once does the author loose sight of the man himself. If Alexander seems unapproachable and on a pedestal, it is because he deserves to be there. Peter's genious is to avoid the inclination to dislodge Alexander. Instead, Peter tries to bring us up to Alexander's level and into his world. This could possibly be the only book on Alexander the historian or student of military art ever needs.

A Great Look at Alexander

This concise, vivid retelling of Alexander's life is simply without equal. As both an accomplished historian and a military man (and, for that matter, a Greek-American), Tsouras is uniquely qualified to write on the subject; as a result, he's produced an analytical military biography to rank alongside the work of J.F.C. Fuller. Yet, for all the insight, there isn't a dry page in this book. In less than a hundred pages, the author catches the color and fire of a lost world, reminding us why Alexander remains a mythical presence in remote parts where American soldiers are fighting today. One of those sudden geniuses whose appearance changes the world, Alexander has long fascinated a wide range of intellects (beginning with his teacher, Aristotle), and it would seem that nothing new could be added to the library of works that exist on the subject. What Tsouras adds to the Alexandrine story is clarity. Writing for a series that might be called "brief military lives" forced authorial selectivity on the work. The result is not only the most lucid biography available of Alexander the Great, but one of the clearest, most readable biographies of any of the figures of antiquity. The writers of the classical age, from playwrights down to Plutarch, understood the art of capturing the total character in the gesture or the sculpted sentence. Tsouras has produced a highly readable biography that needs not one additional word, but couldn't spare one he included. It's a fine read, more relevant than one might at first think. And, if nothing else, with a big-budget Hollywood "sword-and-sandal" bio-pic of Alexander on the way, it's worth the while of any intelligent reader/viewer to learn about the man himself before settling down with the popcorn. Finally, I have to add that I've been a fan of Tsouras's broad body of work for years. I make no pretense of being anything less than a great admirer of his books--and only wish I could persuade still more readers to give him a try. His biography of Alexander is a great place to start.