Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60279 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
Who could have been born to conquer the world other than a god? Mesmeric beauty, consuming desires, an insatiable hunger. Then premature death. This is the story of a boy, born to a great king - Philip of Macedon - and his sensuous queen, Olympias. It tells of the stern discipline of Philip and the wild passions of Olympias, and how, together, they formed Alexander, a young man of immense, unfathomable potential, capable of subjugating the known world to his power, and thought of by his contemporaries as a god. Alexander's swift ascent to manhood, as a protege of Aristotle and close friend of Ptolemy and Hephiaston, and the start of his great adventure to conquer the civilised world is recounted in this awe-inspiring novel. This is a wonderful evocation of the far-off and fascinating civilisation of ancient Greece, revealed in vibrant tones and scholarly detail.

Customer Reviews

Truly intruiging and inspiring stuff
This book is the first in the Alexander series of novels by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It is a terrifically detailed and inspiring account of the early life of Alexander the Great and is a hugely enjoyable read. It describes Alexander's boyhood years and the events and tutoring that turned him into probably the greatest leader thet ever lived.

Despite this, the early part of this book does feel a bit rushed with the author rapidly jumping through periods in Alexander's life and in the closing chapters, the book tails of slightly as the writer tries to set up the following book. Nevertheless the majority of the book is absolutely fascinating and tremendously well researched by the author.

A thoroughly good book on the whole and I have already ordered the sequel, which i await with great anticipation.

A Hero in the Making
Valerio Massimo Manfredi guides us back to Ancient Greece and what a wonderful journey! His dramatisation of Alexander's story grips you from the first page and then you're addicted. The first of a trilogy telling Alexander the Great's life story; it begins in the days leading up to his birth and follows him through his childhood and adolescence. At the same time, we learn much about his father, King Philip of Macedon, his exploits and their relationship as father and son. The book ends as he leads his army, now as King Alexander, into Asia to begin his conquests that built the Greek Empire. It's splendid, brutal and stirring stuff and I just can't wait to get my hands on Alexander: The Sands of Ammon, the second in the triology!

An Internationally Acclaimed Novel
Few authors can be better equipped to write about the history of ancient Greece and Rome than Valerio Massimo Manfredi. Professor of archaeology at the the university of Milan, he has carried out many excavations and expeditions in the Mediterranean region. He has produced many factual books on historical matters, mainly military and has still found the time to write several novels and this is one of the best of them.

This book is the first of a triology about probably the greatest warrior and general who has ever lived, bearing in mind that Alexander died at an age when most men are only just starting to make their mark in life. Alexander is of course one of histories most colourful and well know character. Even people with little or not interest in ancient history will have heard of Alexander, a charismatic and larger than life figure.

This first book is the story of a boy born to royal parents. His father, Philip of Macedon, a great warrior and king in his own right and his mother, Philip's alluring queen, Olympias. Alexander was a handsome boy with a quick and ready wit and great intelligence that was nurtured by his tutor, Aristotle and with friends like Ptolemy and Hephaiston Alexander was moulded into a man who was going to conquer the then known world.