[.ca] Alexander: Invincible King of Macedonia (ISBN 1574886975)

A Great Look at Alexander:
This concise, vivid retelling of Alexander's life is simply without equal. As both an accomplished historian and a military man (and, for that matter, a Greek-American), Tsouras is uniquely qualified to write on the subject; as a result, he's produced an analytical military biography to rank alongside the work of J.F.C. Fuller. Yet, for all the insight, there isn't a dry page in this book. In less than a hundred pages, the author catches the color and fire of a lost world, reminding us why Alexander remains a mythical presence in remote parts where American soldiers are fighting today. One of those sudden geniuses whose appearance changes the world, Alexander has long fascinated a wide range of intellects (beginning with his teacher, Aristotle), and it would seem that nothing new could be added to the library of works that exist on the subject. What Tsouras adds to the Alexandrine story is clarity. Writing for a series that might be called "brief military lives" forced authorial selectivity on the work. The result is not only the most lucid biography available of Alexander the Great, but one of the clearest, most readable biographies of any of the figures of antiquity. The writers of the classical age, from playwrights down to Plutarch, understood the art of capturing the total character in the gesture or the sculpted sentence. Tsouras has produced a highly readable biography that needs not one additional word, but couldn't spare one he included. It's a fine read, more relevant than one might at first think. And, if nothing else, with a big-budget Hollywood "sword-and-sandal" bio-pic of Alexander on the way, it's worth the while of any intelligent reader/viewer to learn about the man himself before settling down with the popcorn. Finally, I have to add that I've been a fan of Tsouras's broad body of work for years. I make no pretense of being anything less than a great admirer of his books--and only wish I could persuade still more readers to give him a try. His biography of Alexander is a great place to start.