Alexander the Fabulous: The Man Who Brought the World to Its Knees

by Michael Alvear, Vicky A. Shecter (Artist)

He conquered the known world. He united it for the first time with a common language. His military tactics are still being studied-and used-by today's warriors. He is considered the most courageous and heroic warrior in history. But (and more importantly): He was hot. His boyfriends were hotter. He could throw hissy fits that would take Liza Minelli's breath away. He traveled with an advance publicity team. He was so vain, if Preparation H had existed, his enemies would have rubbed it on his ego. He had fag hags hanging off him like laundry. We're approaching 2,350 years after his death and people are still fascinated by Alexander the Great. Even Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, the people who gave us language, math and philosophy, didn't have Oliver Stone making movies about them. All the great conquerors that followed Alexander tried to emulate him-Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Jeff Striker. Michael Alvear presents a most unusual biography of history's greatest warrior.

Michael Alvear is a syndicated columnist whose commentary has been heard on NPR. He is the author of "Men Are Pigs, But We Love Bacon."

Genres: Nonfiction, History, LGBT, Biography

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Health writer Michael Alvear has written for WebMD, Newsweek, salon.com, The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post.

He’s been a frequent contributor to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and co-hosted a health and fitness show on HBO and England’s Channel 4.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was fun and that was honestly all I wanted from this little book. It was also a lot more informative than I thought it would, which was a nice bonus!

Though, I wouldn't give this book to someone who knows nothing about Alexander, cause some of the jokes sound more realistic than others and it would be a bit confusing.

Speaking of... ironically the jokes are what made me take a star off. Most of them were amusing little quips and comments, but some were just so over the top ridiculous that they veered into 'dumb' territory. Basically every time some cross-over with modern time happened, like Achilles wearing Prada or Alexander meeting some modern movie star. They felt a bit forced.

I did notice that the number of those kind of jokes receded in the later chapters, making it almost feel like a serious history book simple written in an easy language. I enjoyed that part quite a lot and felt like the jokes were less forced.

This book will definitely find a place on my Alexander shelf, looking bright, colorful and simply fabulous next to the more serious books.

[Gerard Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to read

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very humorous yet informative bio of Alexander the Great. It's published by Advocate Books, so that tells you right off they have a pro-homosexual viewpoint.

Here's one of my many favorite quotes:

It's a testament to Alexander's complexity that some of the places he took over felt conquered while others felt liberated. Alexander was like a Rorschach test: He was whatever people read into him. If you hated monarchies and tyrants, he was a proto Hitler bent on world domination. If you loved diversity and tolerance, he was the first multiculturalist intent on establishing a tolerant world where rulers were respectful of racial and religious differences.

Reactions to Alexander also depended on how hard you fought him. If you fought hard, you lost big. If you didn't fight, you won big. Resistance meant death or enslavement, whereas acceptance meant religious freedom and economic growth. Alexander exercised a kind of paternalistic democracy. The more allegiance you pledged the more freedom you gained. [The Bottom Falls Out: pg 141]

More quotes here.

[Leila Anani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comic biography of Alexander the Great, with an emphasis on his homosexuality, but still reasonably historically accurate.

This never fails to amuse me, its a light read in the vein of '1066 and all that' that is a very good overview of the subject, but still remains hilariously funny.

A definite guilty pleasure.

[🍥 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly, I skimmed this because I wasn't a fan of the voice but it was surprisingly informative and a pretty fun read. Like just about every gay person I know, I did have a "Ancient Greek" phase but I didn't really look too much into Alexander the Great, so I did learn a thing or two.

[Oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious

[Alistair Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Fast, funny, and informative, this book cracked me up in all the best ways.

I read this in one sitting and only wish the book had been longer.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Alexander but not the extra dialogue. There was just too many quips and jokes.