Stephen English (1)

There is much publish or perish hamburger ground out about Alexander the Great, of the many books I have, some I fail to finish. So I looked forward to someone taking the opportunity to examine his sieges, adding new perspective, as there is so much to add and he was such a master, accomplishing the impossible.

I am still waiting. Anyone who reads about Alexander knows the fragility of the historical sources we have, and that none are first hand and all easily questionable, especially on specific “facts”. That doesn't mean we know nothing of Alexander and that an insightful author can step back from the “sources” and see much of his character and accomplishments. There are also many other sources that can be directed from siege itself, which Dr. English does draw on to some degree. This is what I hoped for, not so much dependence on two of the potentially faultiest histories, fables of Curtius and the faulty research of Diodorus who is rarely even published.

By the time you reach the end you see little new, constant repetition in the authors notes he wrote from and a replication of the same mistakes criticized so often by other authors. Maybe I had my hopes to high.… (mais)