Alexander the Great: Lessons from History's Undefeated General

World Generals Series

by Bill Yenne

When the Oracle of Delphi told Alexander the Great that he was invincible, it was right.

The son of the great King Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander was educated by Aristotle and commanded a wing of his father's army in the victory over the Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea—all when he was still just a teenager. By the time of his death at age 32, he had amassed an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River and included all of Persia and most of Egypt. He ruled as both the shah of Persia and as a pharaoh of Egypt by right of conquest, and he was also crowned king of Asia. 

Here, historian Bill Yenne illuminates the legendary vision of this classical hero. Exhibiting the best traits of a battlefield leader, Alexander was audacious, aggressive, fearless and victorious. His unfailing integration of strategic vision and tactical genius took him to the ends of the earth, and into immortality as a military leader. Alexander's influence on cultural and political history and the scope of his military prowess remains awe-inspiring to this day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Greece, Military Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2010

About the author

Bill Yenne is the author of several novels and over three dozen books on historical topics. He has also been a contributor to encyclopedias of both world wars.

The New Yorker wrote of Sitting Bull, his biography of the great Lakota leader, that it "excels as a study in leadership." This book was named to the number 14 spot among Amazon's 100 Best Books of the Year.

Library Journal observed that "enthusiastic World War II readers will be drawn to" his dual biography, Aces High: The Heroic Story of the Two Top Scoring American Aces of World War II.

Recently, his book Convair Deltas was named as Book of the Month by Air Classics, while his book Tommy Gun was named Pick of the Month by Shooting Illustrated.

His book Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint was listed among the top business books of the year by Cond Nast Portfolio Magazine, which rated Yenne's tome as its TOP pick for "Cocktail Conversation."

Yenne's Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II, was praised by Walter Boyne, former Director of the National Air & Space Museum, who called it "a fast moving... page turner," and the "best book yet written on the saga."

The Wall Street Journal wrote, when reviewing his Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West, that Yenne writes with "cinematic vividness," and says of his work that it "has the rare quality of being both an excellent reference work and a pleasure to read."

The author lives in San Francisco, California, and on the web at www.BillYenne.com

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Reviews

[Charles Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! I thought I knew a lot about Alexander the Great and his conquests, but as it turns out not nearly as much as I thought. Fascinating read/listen. I want to read even more about Alexander, Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes. Alexander, a student of Aristotle and thus of the philosophical lineage of Plato and Socrates, was a thinker, strategist, engineer and skilled politician far, far ahead of his time. He could be savage or merciful and generous. He led his men from the front, with great courage. He was also short tempered and exceedingly ambitious. I highly recommend this work to any student of history.

[Lisa Kizer · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a few exceptions on confusing information, misspellings, and weird quotes this book is a must read for anyone interested in ancient history. I love the comparisons between modern and ancient history/battles. This gives great frame of reference and understanding for the readers. The weird quotes that bothered me was when the author used quotes with words from Shakespearean English, Why? Considering that the quotes themselves were translated from ancient Greek, why not just translate these quotes into modern English? But even with this oddity, I am saying this book is topnotch!

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.... The book is mainly, as the title implies, about the battles and territories that were conquered by Alexander the great. There are, however, a number of stories of Alexander's life which were very interesting. For example, he was mentored by Aristotle and his father, Philip II, had been mentored by Plato.

Alexander lived between 356 - 323 BC and his battles would take him through many of the places that I have read about in the Bible and in today's news. Places like, Gaza and Babylon. This is a non-fiction book so it is based on the written records of the time. As I said, it is interesting. Definitely a book you want to listen to rather than read if you struggle like I do with unusual words. I rated it a 3* because it wasn't overly exciting unless you are interested in this kind of stuff.

But I was remind of the things I had learned from reading "The Prince" (pub. in 1532) and "The Art of War" (written between 475 and 221 BCE). This book about the battles of Alexander the Great makes these other books come alive.

[Gabriel Horowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more in line with Alexander's militaristic policies and accomplishments than what I expected, Yenne still captures the essence of the conqueror; a brilliant, innovative, and profoundly inspiring leader, with some unique undercurrents of arrogance and ruthlessness of perhaps an almost psychotically confident man. Probably one of the greatest men who ever lived.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth review of Alexander the great as a military strategist, this book is very readable. The author compares Alexander's ideas to more recent battles, to give the reader some basis. He was a brilliant man!

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexander the Great revealed even more…

The author does a fine job of sifting through the classical bio’s to refine the short story of the legendary King, soldier and politician to reveal more of the human character hidden by the ages.

[Jose G. Figueroa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, as Alexander was

The book verse me into the psychic, motivation, purpose, and brain of one of the most interesting characters, generals, member of the human race, and politician the world has ever known! Recommended to everyone interested in the human race.

[Regan Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the biography by Philip Freeman.

[Evel Meckarov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focused on the military prowess and genius of Alexander the Great. I enjoyed it a lot. Brings a lot more details that are not widely known.

[Logan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book goes to show that you don’t have to be good at what you do and you can still get published.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook & my criteria for audiobooks are different from reading. I want something that is interesting, that I'll enjoy but doesn't matter if I skip a bit because my concentration wanders. I learned a lot from this -- never thought of Alexander as someone who used engineering to solve many military problems (but knowing his Greek education, I should have). Never thought of Alexander as the great proponent of multiculturalism that he was but he intended his empire to blend Greek & Persian. Always wonder what would have happened if he had not died at age 32.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing look at history's greatest general without all of the PC stuff that infiltrates so much of today's reading material. It gets really tiring when an author (or documentary, for that matter -- I'm looking at you, National Geographic) interprets history using today's standards. This is a relatively short read, under 200 pages, that succinctly captures the military genius of a man whose multicultural ideas were far ahead of his time. Recommended.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to book on CD in the car. The narrator was good, especially considering there were foreign names and geographical descriptions. The book is perfect for military history buff, but got a little too much for me at times. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about Alexander.

[Bill Tucker]

I'm taking a break from Alexander to focus on a number of library books. (7/9/11)

[Shad · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a bit too man-worhippy for me, but it had some good information and good use and analysis of original and secondary sources.

[Kian B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty interesting. I recommend it.

[Darryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting lessons indeed