Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography Until recently, popular biographers and most scholars viewed Alexander the Great as a genius with a plan, a romantic figure pursuing his vision of a united world. His dream was at times characterized as a benevolent interest in the brotherhood of man, sometimes as a brute interest in the exercise of power. Green, a Cambridge-trained classicist who is also a novelist, portrays Alexander as both a complex personality and a single-minded general, a man capable of such diverse expediencies as patricide or the massacre of civilians. Green describes his Alexander as “not only the most brilliant (and ambitious) field commander in history, but also supremely indifferent to all those administrative excellences and idealistic yearnings foisted upon him by later generations, especially those who found the conqueror, tout court, a little hard upon their liberal sensibilities.”
This biography begins not with one of the universally known incidents of Alexander’s life, but with an account of his father, Philip of Macedonia, whose many-territoried empire was the first on the continent of Europe to have an effectively centralized government and military. What Philip and Macedonia had to offer, Alexander made his own, but Philip and Macedonia also made Alexander form an important context for understanding Alexander himself. Yet his origins and training do not fully explain the man. After he was named hegemon of the Hellenic League, many philosophers came to congratulate Alexander, but one was conspicuous by his absence: Diogenes the Cynic, an ascetic who lived in a clay tub. Piqued and curious, Alexander himself visited the philosopher, who, when asked if there was anything Alexander could do for him, made the famous reply, “Don’t stand between me and the sun.” Alexander’s courtiers jeered, but Alexander silenced them: “If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.” This remark was as unexpected in Alexander as it would be in a modern leader.
For the general reader, the book, redolent with gritty details and fully aware of Alexander’s darker side, offers a gripping tale of Alexander’s career. Full backnotes, fourteen maps, and chronological and genealogical tables serve readers with more specialized interests.
Customer Review: Let’s Not Cloud the Issue with the Facts!
Peter Green is one of the foremost scholars of Alexander the Great. His biography of the Macedonian King is based upon the evidence of the ancient sources, which are themselves only secondary sources, since the eye-witnesses to Alexander’s exploits are unfortunately no longer extant. Green does not have “an agenda” as some reviewers have suggested; he is merely evaluating the evidence of Arrian, Plutarch, Quintus Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, etc., etc. as it they read it in Callisthenes, Ptolemy, Aristobulus, Onesicritus, etc., etc. All of the non-extant primary sources had their own agendas. Callisthenes was Alexander’s press agent and image maker; Ptolemy, who highjacked the king’s body, wrote his subsequent history of the expediton in such a way that his own exploits were highlighted.
Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature, A (8th Edition) Unlike an anthology of children’s literature, which includes only chapters or summaries, this outstanding seventh edition teaches how to make appropriate judgments about what constitutes quality children’s literature. Using the critical standards for all literature, explanations are supplemented by special issues in judging books for children. Taking readers through the definitions of literary terms by reviewing plot, character, theme, setting, point of view, style, and tone, and including special sections on censorship and the importance of reading aloud, Lukens provides sound criteria for assessing the merit of children’s books. The book also includes chapters on rhymes, poetry, biography, and informational books. Emphasis is placed on multicultural literature, making it a book intended for use with a wide variety of children’s books. For anyone interested in children’s literature, education, language arts, and/or educational media. 
