The Campaigns of Alexander (Classics) |
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Arrian
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Pages: 432 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0140442537
Pub: Penguin Classics
Pub date: 1976-07-29
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 76364
Reader Reviews:
excellent translation, decent book (2/4 people found this helpful)
This book is excellently structured with an introduction on the author, Arrian, excellent footnotes and a couple of appendices at the end.
I found the actual text had way too many names. I just got the impression that Alexander was constantly taking part in minor skirmishes, but I think that is the point.
More and better maps would definitely have helped this book out, as well as some diagrams of battle formations for Alexander's major battles.
Finally, I found the author tended to note various inconsistencies or exaggerations only once whereas I would have preferred he mention them everytime. For example, Arrian frequently understates the number of Macedonian dead (figures as low as 100 against 10 000 in the Persian forces i believe) and I would have liked the translator/publisher to give a more conservative estimate, although maybe this simply isn't possible due to lack of data.
Overall this book is a good introduction to Alexander.
Good copy of the text (3/5 people found this helpful)
This work is hard to review, as it is just a translation. The account Arrian gives is pro-Alexander and a biased account on the truth, but this is just how it is. The book itself is very helpful, with good footnotes for details, and a helpful map section at the back. This is very useful for studying the text, and as a reference to Arrians account.
The Most Reliable Source on Alexander the Great (3/5 people found this helpful)
Written some 4 hundred years after the time of Alexander using the diaries of Ptolemy as the main sources of research, not only is Arrian considered the one of the first serious historians, he was also a roman general and later became a senator. A must-read for anyone interested in the life & times of Alexander the Great.
Good Book (1/11 people found this helpful)
This book was pretty good. However, the book really slows down with talk of stratagy and archers...
Good translation of the best ancient source on Alexander (19/20 people found this helpful)
Arrian's astute and detailed account of the campaigns of Alexander is the most useful surviving ancient source about his life. Anyone interested in Alexander's life will find the book fascinating, although Arrian's views reflect the politics of his time.
This translation is pretty accurate and comprehensive, better than any other I've read in English. The only thing to watch out for is that Arrian makes political points against Alexander as an indirect attack on Imperial Rome's government.
Because of this, you will find dubious references to some war crime events that probably never occurred. Compare with other sources for a fuller picture of Alexander's life and nature ('The Nature of Alexander' by Mary Renault is an excellent analysis and compilation).
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Books -> Subjects -> Study Books -> Undergraduate & Postgraduate -> Arts & Humanities -> Classics & Ancient History -> Ancient Greek
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