The enigma of Alexander the Great has remained with us for 2,300 years. In spite of the best efforts of historians, Alexander is no less a mystery to us now than he probably was during his own lifetime. There was no one like him before or since. In the pages of Harold Lamb's intriguing
Alexander of Macedon, we find some of the answers to the great riddle of his character. Lamb, author of the magnificent
Hannibal: One Man Against Rome, has once more pushed the envelope of historical writing to give us a glimpse of what Alexander might really have been like.
Using as his principle source material the Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian, Lamb has cobbled together not only a straightforward retelling of the exciting adventures of the Macedonian, but he has also deftly reconstructed those hidden events of which history is silent. The result is a remarkable portrait of a young man thrust into the leadership of a semi-barbarous Greek people. This is the story of that whirlwind of physical and mental energy which was to explode across the surface of the known world. In the end, it was the civilization of the East which captured Alexander. His untimely death a mere dozen years after his accession to power robbed mankind of one of the most compelling visionaries who ever lived.
