Alexander

Great Captains

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

Coinciding with the release of two films about Alexander by directors Oliver Stone and Baz Luhrmann, here is the classic study of Alexander, his predecessors, and his influence on the art of war--still fascinating and relevant over one hundred years after its initial publication. Dodge here vividly reconstructs every major battle of Alexander's brilliant military career, fully illustrating his narrative with invaluable maps and charts.

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

720 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1890

About the author

Theodore Ayrault Dodge was an American officer and military historian. He fought as an Union officer in the American Civil War, and lost his leg at the Battle of Gettysburg; as a writer, he devoted his writings to both the American Civil War and the great generals of Ancient and European history.

Reviews

[Asa Newsome · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book of Dodge that I have had the pleasure of reading, and I wasn’t disappointed. From a young age i have had a fascination with Alexander and have been filled with wonder that he conquered what was considered then the known world. That was about as far as my knowledge on the subject went, and just that little whisper, like a rumor from a far off land that reached my ears, I was in love with his story. But as time passed on I started to develop a want of more knowledge of this man and his conquests, but it seemed the book I was looking for didn’t exist before I stumbled upon this masterpiece by dodge. I wanted to “be there” with Alexander, be there with him on the Granicus and go from Egypt to the Caucuses, from Gaugamela to the Hydaspes. And Dodge gave me that. Though not written in the form of high fantasy, I received the thrill and agony of the quests of Alexander and his ever-suffering army and I kept turning the pages filled with equal excitement as though I was reading the “a song of ice and fire”. This was a wonderful read and beyond hope I found this story, the details of which I am amazed that they exist so bountifully (though many can be taken with a pinch, or sometimes a handful, of speculation). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to partake in the conquest of Asia. Also, and probably most importantly about this review, I would say that Dodge and I have a similar view on Alexander. Too many people in our modern world label him as a self obsessed mad man who lived to deal death and judgement, but what host of men would follow such a man to the very ends of the earth? I truly believe that the way Dodge paints the picture of Alexander is truly as close to the way he actually was when he walked the earth over 2300 years ago.

[Ruben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story about probably the best general ever existed, full of details and anecdotes. The style is the usual, clear and straightforward from this writer.
Very easy to read.

[Andrew Pruitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theodore Ayrault Dodge’s masterful biography of Alexander’s campaigns. “Strategy is war on the map—but it takes you only right up to the enemy.” A Union veteran of the Civil War, wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, Dodge applies a modern analysis on Alexander’s campaign against the Persian Empire. It’s less of a biography on Alexander himself (although it covers enough to understand who he is), and more on the—more than ten-year-long—campaign. Dodge introduces us to the basic formation, weapons, and tactics of the Macedonian Army which Alexander’s father, Phillip, essentially built from scratch. Macedonia was, until Philip, a Grecian backwater relative to the Greek city states that fought, defended, and fought again the Persian Empire for over a century. After the Persian wars, the Greeks—specifically the Athenians and Spartans—depleted themselves in a several-decade-long series of wars. Philip took advantage of this and prepared an organized, trained, and equipped army that he was first going to use to bully the Greeks into allying with him before his turning and facing the great—before-undefeated at home—Persian Empire. But, Philip was assassinated at the eve of all this and the-then-twenty year old Alexander inherited/took the responsibility on himself. From this point on, Dodge, in concise easy and eager to read chapters, takes you through each campaign or battle. Alexander will first have to “show” the Greeks that he is every bit as lethal as his father and subdue the Daube territory before marching/sailing to Asia.

The strategies and tactics of Alexander are brilliant but the whole story is animated by his passion. You can imagine his ferocity, his bravery, and surely his command—enough to convince thousands of mountain-soldiers to march a—previously invincible—empire of millions. His first stop, upon crossing the Hellespont, is to visit Troy and pay tribute to Achilles while his “bosom friend” Hephaestion poured libations to Patroclus. Miletus surrenders without a fight but Alexander would work for each victory thereafter, the overall strategy being to occupy every town upon his route, starving the Persian fleet out rather than fight it. He feels he is descended from Achilles, in Egypt, you get a sense that he feels he is now a God, and at Babylon and Bactria, he assumes all the titles of emperor. One would picture anyone lesser, perhaps even his father, at capitalizing on a strategic win—perhaps Asia Minor, perhaps Egypt. To think of the temptation when Darius offered peace in exchange for territorial rights over this territory. But Alexander kept going. Alexander kept going past Babylon—the ultimate victory of this “war on a map”. He knows it’s not enough, he must defeat Darius or suffer his rule in exile. He would have pursued Darius to the ends of the earth which, for the Greeks at the time, WAS the ends of the—at least known—Earth. But Darius is assassinated by his confederates, thinking this would soften Alexander’s approach—but nope. Alexander marches through the Caspian Gates, conquers Bactria, marries the exotic and erotic Roxana (and concurrently has all his men take Asian wives—fun) and then heads into India. India was literally off the map, essentially a fairytale land built upon rumor and “I know a guy”. One of Alexander’s last battles was against the fierce, and just local, Porus at Hydaspes where—and this is actually heartbreaking—his loyal horse Bucephalus is killed. And even THEN, Alexander wants to keep going—without even the outline of an opponent to chase, he simply wants to explore, to either find the end of the Earth or come around full circle back to Greece. But his men—literally—refuse to budge. Thus follows the (hard to read) land/sea “retreat” back to Babylon where Alexander dies in 324 B.C, thirty-two years old.

History, at least in Asia, Asia Minor, and Egypt would be launched by Alexander’s last words, those in response to whom he should leave his kingdom: “to the strongest”.

I remember reading Xenophon’s Anabasis before this book which Alexander (and Philip) must have read. Although it’s a story about Xenophon’s “retreat”, you get a sense for the disorganization of the Persians. No common language, no common leadership, too much territory. They have wealth and they have a lot of soldiers but if you were to assemble thirty or forty-thousand well organized and well-equipped soldiers, you could strike at the heart of the empire.

[Jeff Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been working my way through most of T.A. Dodge's series and enjoyed this one best or at least as much as the one on Hannibal. The battles and surrounding circumstances were so incredible that I often was incredulous. However, whether true, made up, or some mix didn't matter too much; I would have enjoyed them just as much if pure fiction.

The coverage of the battles and tactics are good, but there is also more general history in this one than there is in some of the others. Great read.

[Darrell Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good condensed version of Alexander 's military campaigns

Being that Alexander was 2,300 + years ago and there is not a great amount of references, the book stayed mainly focussed on his military campaigns and maneuvers. It does show Alexander as one trying to increase trade, and valuing people. He led from the front.

[Aerik]

Very detailed. Probably a go-to work if this is the kind of history you want to read about. I approached this book rather aimlessly, and stubbornly elected to finish it, though I was not enthralled by the subject. For me at the time it was dry.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written 1890, quite outdated, but nicely obsessive about details. Notably, the Kindle edition is godawful bad, with many very dumb typos, no illustrations or graphs, and weak formatting. Worth buying on paper.

[Sean Doubt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an amazing history. No question that few people have accomplished as much as Alexander, despite his flaws he appears to have been an exceptional person in many ways.

[Vladimir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough focus on tactics and too much focus on strategy.

[Tony Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know that one hoplite who refuses to débouche from the mountain defile 😂

[Tyler Windham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theodore Dodge may have, in this book, created the greatest story of Alexander's campaigns ever to be written; even better than the famous Arrian in my view. His writing style is lively, enthralling,and descriptive and will definitely leave the reader captivated! Alexander was definitely a great man and possibly the greatest (surely one of the greatest) captains in history and Dodge unashamedly portrays him as such, however, he does not shy away from the flaws in the Macedonian prince's incandescent patina. All of this flows seamlessly into the shear adventure of the his campaign of revenge against the Persian Empire, his great victories against overwhelming odds, his noble deeds as well as some that were not so noble, and the Herculean character of the great king--the new Achilles himself--who always led from the front and was always loved by his men. For anyone who wants both a great narrative and a great scholarly work then Theodore Dodge's work will more that satiate both of those desires!

[Dennis Sison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodge's books have a very classic feel to them. Hand drawn illustrations and battle maps add to the ambience of reading something your grandpa might have read in his study back in the good ole days. Some of the material feels dated, such as Dodge's obvious lack of respect for Eastern and Middle Eastern warfare (the Orientals...), but if you keep in mind when this book was written, I think you'll get by just fine. I really wish textbooks were written like this today...

Added: 4-21
Some inaccuracies have dampened my enthusiasm for this book- such as the obvious mistake of calling a ballista a catapult and vice versa. But rekindling my enthusiasm is the general survey of Greek warfare preceding Alexander's generation, which I appreciated terribly.

[Idiom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the three definitive biographies written by Dodge;(Alexander, Caeser, Hannibal), this was my favorite. Dodge's insights from his own military career during the US civil war breathe a life into this account that draws you in. Alexander of Macedon's strategies and tactics are explained by a military officer whose first hand, wartime experience, sheds light on them in a manner not possible by a back-room scholar. Enjoy!

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book kind of started out slow, the speed started picking up as the book progressed. The battles were described vividly, and especially the siege of Tyre was the most interesting part of the campaigns of Alexander. If you have read any of the other books that Dodge wrote, like Hannibal or Caesar, he compares the captains with skill and such a way.

[Luis Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALEXANDER

Es un excelente libro que nos muestra por qué se le conoce como Alejandro Magno, en cuya narrativa el autor nos ubica en el tiempo y lugar en que Alejandro Magno muestra como logró sus victorias y sabiamente sometió a los diferentes pueblos. Los numerosos gráficos facilita la comprensión de las tácticas que empleó Alejandro Magno, al que solo la muerte venció.

[Takipsilim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodge set the standard on comprehensive military studies of the great commanders. And despite the passage of more than a century since his books were first published he still reads well. This is his take on history's first great captain.

[Windsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second favorite of the three books I have read on Alexander. A good military summary, although this is mostly because it is written my a former army general. It lacks a little on the scholarly side (especially political) but it is by no means a bad book.

[Jhsmith111]

Oh man this is a good book. Dudes you gotta read this!! Beware you will never be the same......

[Adelaido Godinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore Dodge considered Alexander the greatest of the great captains. Worth reading.

[Peter Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion this book is still the benchmark That others are measured against.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Great for those wanting an overview of Alexander's campaigns. This is the second of Dodge's books I've read (Hannibal) and I've enjoyed both of them.

[Joel Toppen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read through this volume twice. Battle narratives are some of the best for this period of history.

[keereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read

[Blake Hiatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not any easy read, but, the book does a good job of recounting the military exploits of Alexander. It's amazing that one so young accomplished so much in so short a period of time.