Me encantan las biografías y ésta con tintes de novela me atrapó desde la primera página. Sin más que decir es la vida de Alejandro Magno, recuerdo que cuando acabe el libro yo quería que fuera mi esposo

Beautifully written and inspiring, showing both the horror and the glory of the war that took an army from Macedon to Afghanistan. I enjoyed every word and more so because of the emotion it showed, I never knew Alexander was such a loving man. Also I enjoyed the hearty praise for the martial life and the contempt for the luxurious, marking this as the difference between east and west.

Maybe Pressfield should have just written a military history of Alexander the Great. Way too many technical details about the military campaigns and the glorified version of Alexander portrayed in this novel seems unwarranted. So maybe Pressfield should NOT have tried his hand at an actual history...

I think the disappointment is stronger when you’ve read something before by the same author, something that you really loved, and about someone you’re interested in. So, yes, I was disappointed in this book. Especially since it started out so well. The book is written in the first person, something I don’t normally care for. But Pressfield had captured Alexander’s voice so eloquently.

Unfortunately, all Alexander wanted to talk about was war. Every iota of it. Each battle was described, bloody strike by bloody strike. He’s describing all this sort of like a memoir to Itanes, one of his brother-in-laws. I’m surprised the guy could stay awake.

The sections that were more about Alexander’s life, his friends, his family, are so sparse, that little is shown of what made the man, why he was the way he was. It’s just one battle after another. The book has no soul.

this was a beautiful and well written book and i think that i really would have loved it if i had been able to read it all at once. however, there were so many names and places and historical details that it became overwhelming and made it difficult for me to read a large chunk of the book in one sitting. granted, the exploits of alexander ranged over many countries and many years, conquering and encountering a great number of peoples and places, so it makes sense. it just became difficult for me to continue reading, but if i had been able to remember all the little details, it would have made this book that much more emotional and impactful for me.

pressfield has a lovely prose style and is great at character building. his characters are very real, each with its own developed personality, ambitions, emotions, etc. my one complaint is the lack of female characters, though i suppose it makes historical sense. i also really did love reading about alexander, who was viewed as a god by so many, but we heard a point of view from someone close to him that understood that he really was just a young man. i was so intrigued reading about how his inner thoughts were different from everyone else around him, making him into a tactical and respected leader. i did really enjoy this book, even if the names could get clouded at times.

though pressfield’s gates of fire will always be my favorite, he produced a beautiful and moving read with the virtues of war.

Incredible Book!!

I really enjoyed this book. there are chapters where I highlighted and made notes on every page.

There are lessons in here I learned as an NCO in the Army, and notes I plan to pass onto the next generation of Soldiers. I couldn't help but notice the parallels between Alexander's army and our own in Afghanistan.

Few books have made me stop and think as much as this one.

A fictionalized account of Alexander's campaign across the known world. The battle descriptions in this book make it so fun to visualize every battle and watch it unfold from Alexander's point of view. Every battle starts with him breaking down the field, then describing what he thinks the enemy plans to do and how he will devise his strategy based on that information. Seeing the strategy broken down like this made every battle come alive.
Near the end it starts to drag a little but this coincides with Alexander's army's own feelings of exhaustion so it actually may have helped the narrative and one of the final chapters was my favorite of the book.
It's been awhile since I read Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire but I think I enjoyed this one even more. I would list The Legend of Bagger Vance as my favorite book by him but he has a long list of works I still need to read through.

Come ammesso dall'autore, le battaglie descritte non rispettano il corretto ordine cronologico ma, a meno di non essere un "purista", non ha nessuna importanza. Un romanzo che ti fa affezionare non poco ad Alessandro

The novel was fairly interesting, but far from Pressfield's best. I thought he reached his apogee with Gates of Fire or possibly Afghan Campaign.

This story begins with Alexander's men wishing to turn back from India and go home; they feel they've fought and died far enough from home for long enough. Alexander's in his tent with Itanes, his young brother-in-law, and wants "someone to talk to ... who can listen without judgment and keep his mouth shut...it is my role to instruct you [in the art of war]." He then delivers a book-long series of monologues to Itanes, on that very subject. I had visions of a pompous professor in a gown like an English don delivering very long lectures to a class of one.

Alexander instructs Itanes on his [Alexander's] life, through various wars and battles Alexander has fought. Itanes's presence isn't even acknowledged until 80-some pages into the novel and after that, sporadically. Alexander gives his ideas on what makes a good soldier. The battle descriptions were well done, and Alexander's advice to various officers and his "Maxims on War" were very common-sense. I was reminded of Sun Tzu's writings on the latter.

I didn't like this portrayal of Alexander. He came across as arrogant, devious, excessively cruel at some points, almost wooden; my teeth were set on edge. He came across as a braggart. For the most part, he was unsympathetic until he and his men fought the Persians and he saw the suffering of his men.

I did like: *his description of how he met Hephaestion, who became his life-long close friend and soulmate.
*his description of Babylonian society.
*his even-handedness in his appraisal of Memnon, his Greek mercenary opponent in the Persian War.
*the Chronology at the end of the book

I did a 'double-take' when he mentioned striking "the bone" in battle to "count the cadence" of marching men. Immediately I thought of the symandron, used to this day. [To those who may not know what a symandron is, it is a special board, struck rhythmically with a mallet to call monks and nuns to prayer in Greek Orthodox monasteries and convents.]

All in all, this book was good enough, but not outstanding. I feel it's basically for people who want to read more Pressfield or for those who devour everything on Alexander the Great. This book has influenced me to dislike anything Alexander the Great! It left such a bad taste in my mouth!

Gives a good fictional account of Alexander the Great, his rise to power, and his aggressive leadership style. "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a lamb. I am afraid of an army of lambs led by a lion." One of Alexander's thoughts that give insight to his concept of leadership and what he expected from his generals on the field. Great tactical explanations that tell how the Macedonian army defeated the Persian army multiple times with a smaller force.

Tis’ rare that I wax lyrical about a book. Rarer still that I would suggest an accolade of five stars.

Mr Pressfield has written many great novels and if you look back at my reviews you will notice that I have enjoyed many of them. Here, with “Alexander, the virtues of war” he has excelled himself. A difficult task methinks as he has already written many excellent novels but here he rises above the glory of his earlier work to new heights. This, I feel, a work of wonder. Worthy of university place and much discussion. One of the best novels I have ever read. I rate this book with the likes of “Lord of the Flies”, “Iron in the Soul”, “Miss Smilla’s feeling for Snow” This is the epitome of historical fiction to my mind and Mr Pressfield is due a laurel for excellence in writing

still in love w Alexander after all these years