Download or read book The Madness of Alexander the Great written by Richard A Gabriel and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-03-31 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the years, some 20,000 books and articles have been written about Alexander the Great, the vast majority hailing him as possibly the greatest general that ever lived. Richard A. Gabriel, however, argues that, while Alexander was clearly a succesful soldier-adventurer, the evidence of real greatness is simply not there. ?The author presents Alexander as a misfit within his own warrior society, attempting to overcompensate. Thoroughly insecure and unstable, he was given to episodes of uncontrollable rage and committed brutal atrocities that would today have him vilified as a monstrous psychopath. The author believes some of his worst excesses may have been due to what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, of which he displays many of the classic symptoms, brought on by extended exposure to violence and danger. Above all the author thinks that Alexander's military ability has been flattered by History. Alexander was tactically competent but contributed nothing truly original, while his strategy was often flawed and distorted by his obsession with personal glory. This radical reappraisal is certain to provoke debate.
Download or read book The Madness of Alexander the Great written by Richard A. Gabriel and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-03-31 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the years, some 20,000 books and articles have been written about Alexander the Great, the vast majority hailing him as possibly the greatest general that ever lived. Richard A. Gabriel, however, argues that, while Alexander was clearly a succesful soldier-adventurer, the evidence of real greatness is simply not there. The author presents Alexander as a misfit within his own warrior society, attempting to overcompensate. Thoroughly insecure and unstable, he was given to episodes of uncontrollable rage and committed brutal atrocities that would today have him vilified as a monstrous psychopath. The author believes some of his worst excesses may have been due to what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, of which he displays many of the classic symptoms, brought on by extended exposure to violence and danger. Above all the author thinks that Alexander's military ability has been flattered by History. Alexander was tactically competent but contributed nothing truly original, while his strategy was often flawed and distorted by his obsession with personal glory. This radical reappraisal is certain to provoke debate.
Download or read book Alexander the Great written by Anthony Everitt and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can we learn from the stunning rise and mysterious death of the ancient world’s greatest conqueror? An acclaimed biographer reconstructs the life of Alexander the Great in this magisterial revisionist portrait. “[An] infectious sense of narrative momentum . . . Its energy is unflagging, including the verve with which it tackles that teased final mystery about the specific cause of Alexander’s death.”—The Christian Science Monitor More than two millennia have passed since Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched to every corner of the ancient world, from the backwater kingdom of Macedonia to the Hellenic world, Persia, and ultimately to India—all before his untimely death at age thirty-three. Alexander believed that his empire would stop only when he reached the Pacific Ocean. But stories of both real and legendary events from his life have kept him evergreen in our imaginations with a legacy that has meant something different to every era: in the Middle Ages he became an exemplar of knightly chivalry, he was a star of Renaissance paintings, and by the early twentieth century he’d even come to resemble an English gentleman. But who was he in his own time? In Alexander the Great, Anthony Everitt judges Alexander’s life against the criteria of his own age and considers all his contradictions. We meet the Macedonian prince who was naturally inquisitive and fascinated by science and exploration, as well as the man who enjoyed the arts and used Homer’s great epic the Iliad as a bible. As his empire grew, Alexander exhibited respect for the traditions of his new subjects and careful judgment in administering rule over his vast territory. But his career also had a dark side. An inveterate conqueror who in his short life built the largest empire up to that point in history, Alexander glorified war and was known to commit acts of remarkable cruelty. As debate continues about the meaning of his life, Alexander's death remains a mystery. Did he die of natural causes—felled by a fever—or did his marshals, angered by his tyrannical behavior, kill him? An explanation of his death can lie only in what we know of his life, and Everitt ventures to solve that puzzle, offering an ending to Alexander’s story that has eluded so many for so long.
Download or read book Reef Madness written by David Dobbs and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2009-02-25 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the century-long controversy over the orgins of coral reefs, a debate that split the world of nineteenth-century science, looking at the diverse roles of Louis Agassiz, his son Alexander, and Charles Darwin and reflecting on how the search for the truth shed new light on the formation of Earth and its natural wonders.
Download or read book The Persian Boy written by Mary Renault and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times–bestselling novel of the ancient king of Macedon and his lover by the author Hilary Mantel calls “a shining light.” The Persian Boy centers on the most tempestuous years of Alexander the Great’s life, as seen through the eyes of his lover and most faithful attendant, Bagoas. When Bagoas is very young, his father is murdered and he is sold as a slave to King Darius of Persia. Then, when Alexander conquers the land, he is given Bagoas as a gift, and the boy is besotted. This passion comes at a time when much is at stake—Alexander has two wives, conflicts are ablaze, and plots on the Macedon king’s life abound. The result is a riveting account of a great conqueror’s years of triumph and, ultimately, heartbreak. The Persian Boy is the second volume of the Novels of Alexander the Great trilogy, which also includes Fire from Heaven and Funeral Games. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author. “Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us.” —Hilary Mantel
Download or read book The Genius of Alexander the Great written by N Hammond and published by Gerald Duckworth. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "As a commander of men of many races, Alexander was and is incomparable. As a statesman he envisaged, and to some extent created, an ecumenical kingdom which rose above race and nation and which enjoyed peace and prosperity, extending from his birthplace in Macedonia to the borders of Kashmir. His intellect and charismatic personality so fascinated those he conquered that they served in his army and administration and adopted him as the hero of their quasi-mythical romances. We have much to learn today from this genius of a man who died having achieved so much at the age of thirty-two."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Ghost on the Throne written by James Romm and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-two, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea in the west all the way to modern-day India in the east. In an unusual compromise, his two heirs—a mentally damaged half brother, Philip III, and an infant son, Alexander IV, born after his death—were jointly granted the kingship. But six of Alexander’s Macedonian generals, spurred by their own thirst for power and the legend that Alexander bequeathed his rule “to the strongest,” fought to gain supremacy. Perhaps their most fascinating and conniving adversary was Alexander’s former Greek secretary, Eumenes, now a general himself, who would be the determining factor in the precarious fortunes of the royal family. James Romm, professor of classics at Bard College, brings to life the cutthroat competition and the struggle for control of the Greek world’s greatest empire.
Download or read book Philip II of Macedonia written by Richard A. Gabriel and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2010-08-31 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philip II of Macedonia (382–336 BCE), unifier of Greece, author of Greece's first federal constitution, founder of the first territorial state with a centralized administrative structure in Europe, forger of the first Western national army, first great general of the Greek imperial age, strategic and tactical genius, and military reformer who revolutionized warfare in Greece and the West, was one of the greatest captains in the military history of the West. Philip prepared the ground, assembled the resources, conceived the strategic vision, and launched the first modern, tactically sophisticated and strategically capable army in Western military history, making the later victories of his son Alexander possible. Philip's death marked the passing of the classical age of Greek history and warfare and the beginning of its imperial age. To Philip belongs the title of the first great general of a new age of warfare in the West, an age that he initiated with his introduction of a new instrument of war, the Macedonian phalanx, and the tactical doctrines to ensure its success. As a practitioner of the political art, Philip also had no equal. In all these things, Philip exceeded Alexander's triumphs. This book establishes Philip's legitimate and deserved place in military history, which, until now, has been largely minimized in favor of his son by the classicist writers who have dominated the field of ancient biography. Richard Gabriel, renowned military historian, has given us the first military biography of Philip II of Macedonia.
Download or read book Alexander the Great Persia written by Joseph Stiles and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Upon his return from India, Alexander the Great travelled to the Persian royal city of Pasargadae to pay homage at the tomb of King Cyrus, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, whom he admired greatly. Disgusted to find Cyrus’ tomb desecrated and looted, the Macedonian king had the tomb guards tortured, the Persian provincial governor executed and the tomb refurbished. This episode involving Cyrus’ tomb serves as one of many case studies in Alexander’s relationship with Persia. At times Alexander would behave pragmatically, sparing his defeated enemies and adopting Persian customs. Sisygambis, the mother of Persian King Darius III, allegedly came to view Alexander as a son and starved herself at the news of his demise. On other occasions he did not shy away from destruction (famously torching the palace at Persepolis) and cruelty, earning himself the nickname ‘the accursed’. This conflicting nature gives Alexander a complex legacy in the Persian world. Joseph Stiles explores Alexander the Great’s fascinating relationship with his ‘spear-won’ empire, disentangling the motives and influences behind his policies and actions as ‘King of Asia’.
Download or read book The Campaigns of Alexander written by Arrian and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2003-07-31 with total page 769 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although written over four hundred years after Alexander's death, Arrian's account of the man and his achievements is the most reliable we have. Arrian's own experience as a military commander gave him unique insights into the life of the world's greatest conqueror. He tells of Alexander's violent suppression of the Theban rebellion, his defeat of Persia and campaigns through Egypt and Babylon - establishing new cities and destroying others in his path. While Alexander emerges as a charismatic leader, Arrian succeeds brilliantly in creating an objective portrait of a man of boundless ambition, who was exposed to the temptations of power.
Download or read book The Madness of Mam Carlota written by Graciela LimÑn and published by Arte Publico Press. This book was released on 2012-03-31 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's 1852 in Cholula, Mexico, and three sisters, indigenous girls of the Chontal people, seek work at the Hacienda La Perla. They rapidly make their way from dish washers to the cook's assistants before entering the house as servants to the wealthy Acuña family. But when the youngest sister is viciously raped by a family member, they flee the estate, after taking their revenge, only to be caught up in the historic Battle of Puebla, where native Mexicans defeat invading French troops. Fearful that the Acuña family will not rest until the sisters are found and punished, they keep moving, ultimately finding work as servants at the National Palace in Mexico City, where the French have recently taken control. There, the sisters' fortunes become intertwined with that of the Empress Carlota. Both beautiful and extremely intelligent, she dedicates herself to the empire, chastising Napoleon when he reneges on his promise to send troops and antagonizing the Church by proposing that the empire secularize at least part of its holdings. But her love for Mexico's people is not reciprocated, and soon the sisters have to decide whether to stay behind without the empress' protection or to accompany her to Europe. Weaving the story of Mexico's indigenous peoples with that of the tragic Belgian princess who became the wife of the Austrian Archduke Maximillian von Hapsburg, acclaimed author Graciela Limón once again explores issues of race, class and women's rights. She skillfully crafts a gripping novel about a smart, wealthy woman who is not afraid to challenge powerful men, and re-imagines the story behind Empress Carlota's descent into madness and eventual imprisonment in a remote European castle.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Heracles written by Daniel Ogden and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The first half of the volume is devoted to the exposition of the ancient evidence, literary and iconographic, for the traditions of Heracles' life and deeds. After a chapter each on the hero's childhood and his madness, the canonical cause of his Twelve Labors, each of the Labors themselves receives detailed treatment in a dedicated chapter. The 'Parerga' or 'Side-Labors' are then treated in a similar level of detail in seven further chapters. In the second half of the book the Heracles tradition is analysed from a range of thematic perspectives. After consideration of the contrasting projections of the figure across the major literary genres, Epic, Tragedy, Comedy, Philosophy, and in the iconographic register, a number of his myth-cycle's diverse fils rouges are pursued: Heracles' fashioning as a folkloric quest-hero; his relationships with the two great goddesses, the Hera that persecutes him and the Athena that protects him; and the rationalisation and allegorisation of his cycle's constituent myths. The ways are investigated in which Greek communities and indeed Alexander the Great exploited the figure both in the fashioning of their own identities and for political advantage. The cult of Heracles is considered in its Greek manifestation, in its syncretism with that of the Phoenician Melqart, and in its presence at Rome, the last study leading into discussion of the use made of Heracles by the Roman emperors themselves and then by early Christian writers. A final chapter offers an authoritative perspective on the limitless subject of Heracles' reception in the western tradition"--
Download or read book Great Generals of the Ancient World written by Richard A. Gabriel and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-01-30 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The military expert and author of Philip II of Macedonia presents 9 profiles of exemplary leadership from the ancient world. Of all the military commanders throughout history, only a few are remembered as great leaders of men in battle. Is there a combination of personal attributes and historical circumstances that produces great commanders? Professor Richard A. Gabriel analyses the biographies of ten great generals, all of whom lived between 1481 BC and AD 632, in order to identify the characteristics of intellect, psychology, personality, and experience that allowed them to tread the path to greatness. Some of the names included in Gabriel’s selection, such as Moses and Muhammad, will surprise many readers—as will the historical figures Gabriel chooses to omit, including Alexander the Great and Atilla the Hun. But Gabriel is not merely interested in famous military exploits. A retired soldier and professor at the Canadian Defence College, he distils the timeless essence of military leadership through the examples of Julius Caesar, Philip II of Macedonia, Thutmose III of Egypt, and others
Download or read book How Madness Shaped History written by Christopher J. Ferguson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book considers the impact of psychology on world events, looking at how mental illness and personality disorders have affected history. How have mental illness and personality disorders influenced history? This lively investigation demonstrates that, when conditions are ripe, one unstable individual can create the best or worst moments of a generation or even a century. Beginning with Alexander the Great, whose megalomania caused widespread bloodshed yet powerfully shaped world history through the spread of Greek culture, the author examines the various forms of mental illness among people of great influence. These includes emperors, like the Romans Caligula and Elagabalus, kings like George III of England and Charles II of Spain, and lesser known rulers such as sixteenth-century Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory, who is in the Guinness World Records as the most prolific female serial killer of all time. In more recent times, the author considers the mental instability exhibited by dictators Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Idi Amin, as well as female prison guard Irma Grese, whose cruelties at Auschwitz were infamous. He also discusses rumors of cognitive decline among American presidents Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump, and the ways in which American democracy copes with the disability of its leaders. And he considers cases where whole societies seem to be gripped by the madness of mob rule. Ferguson concludes with an eye toward the future, considering the power of social media to amplify fringe ideas, giving extremist and outright crazy perspectives greater exposure and influence than ever before.
Download or read book Scipio Africanus written by Richard A. Gabriel and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2008 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world often misunderstands its greatest men while neglecting others entirely. Scipio Africanus, surely the greatest general that Rome produced, suffered both these fates. Today scholars celebrate the importance of Hannibal, even though Scipio defeated the legendary general in the Second Punic War and was the central military figure of his time. In this scholarly and heretofore unmatched military biography of the distinguished Roman soldier, Richard A. Gabriel establishes Scipio's rightful place in military history as the greater of the two generals. Before Scipio, few Romans would have dreamed of empire, and Scipio himself would have regarded such an ambition as a danger to his beloved republic. And yet, paradoxically, Scipio's victories in Spain and Africa enabled Rome to consolidate its hold over Italy and become the dominant power in the western Mediterranean, virtually ensuring a later confrontation with the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms to the east as well as the empire's expansion into North Africa and the Levant. The Roman imperium was being born, and it was Scipio who had sired it. Gabriel draws upon ancient texts, including those from Livy, Polybius, Diodorus, Silius Italicus, and others, as primary sources and examines all additional material available to the modern scholar in French, German, English, and Italian. His book offers a complete bibliography of all extant sources regarding Scipio's life. The result is a rich, detailed, and contextual treatment of the life and career of Scipio Africanus, one of Rome's greatest generals, if not the greatest of them all.
Download or read book The Landmark Arrian written by Arrian and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2012-01-17 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander, widely considered the most authoritative history of the brilliant leader’s great conquests, is the latest addition to the acclaimed Landmark series. After twelve years of hard-fought campaigns, Alexander the Great controlled a vast empire that was bordered by the Adriatic sea to the west and modern-day India to the east. Arrian, himself a military commander, combines his firsthand experience of battle with material from Ptolemy’s memoirs and other ancient sources to compose a singular portrait of Alexander. This vivid and engaging new translation of Arrian will fascinate readers who are interested in classical studies, the history of warfare, and the origins of East–West tensions still swirling in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan today. Enriched by the series’ trademark comprehensive maps, illustrations, and annotations, and with contributions from the preeminent classical scholars of today, The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander is the definitive edition of this essential work of ancient history.
Download or read book By the Spear written by Ian Worthington and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique military and cultural history that chronicles the reigns of Philip and Alexander the Great in one sweeping narrative.
