Philip II and Alexander the Great: Two Legendary Kings and Their Conquests

Bertie: I really thought this was excellent. It's about time someone took in the whole spectrum of both father and son. It's been criticised for being excessively detailed on the endless small and local Macedonian campaigns but I don't see how you avoid that; Macedonians didn't do much else. It's also very well written. I wolfed it down.

United Kingdom on Aug 20, 2023

Amazon Customer: Philip built the foundation for Alexander to launch his campaigns. This book, another excellent one by the author explains the relationship between the two. Due to the volume of literary sources the majority of the book focuses on the son. Whilst it covers much of the same content such as other authors eg Fox, it’s an enjoyable and easy read. The only thing stopping a 5 star review is I would have liked a bit more information on some of the main characters eg Ptolemy. Having said that, the book was about the father and son. Looking forward to Adrian’s next book!

United States on Aug 13, 2023

Classics Beginner: The book arrived in great order and well on time.

The book is a good substantial hardback and I am really looking forward to getting stuck into it.

United Kingdom on Aug 08, 2023

JohnKJohnK: I loved this book! I read Philip and Alexander, first on kindle after I’d first encountered Philip Freeman’s very charitable Alexander read, and Paul Cartledge’s more reluctant, yet stringent treatment, in that order (third). Ultimately, I’ve decided to take on the Landmark Arrian, (pulling in Diodorus, Curtius, Justin, and Plutarch where necessary), and I still find myself returning to Goldsworthy’s meticulous and exacting description, when the ancient text is confusing. In some ways, he will give you the most thorough and concise explanation of what unfolded.

Alot of Alexander bios are by people who don’t really like the guy. Such a point of view doesn’t make for interesting reading. However, to portray the guy as without flaw is foolish also. It seems that Goldsworthy tries to weigh the evidence with neither passion nor prejudice for the figures, so that we the readers might best weigh the evidence to consider what was going on at the time. Neither overly charitable, nor damning, nor speculative, he provides a description of the events that do not laud the figures themselves so much as inspire wonder and curiosity for the times in which they lived.

United States on Jul 21, 2023

Mich_star: Eu já acompanho os livros de Adrian Goldsworthy , desde que o encontrei em referências importantes sobre o exército romano e os principais generais, sobre Cipião Africano e a guerra púnica, etc. É um autor com trabalhos destacados sobre Roma Antiga, especialmente na construção do exército e o impacto que o mesmo teve para tornar Roma uma potência.

Eu achava que ele só escrevia sobre Roma. Tomei um susto ao descobrir que escrevia sobre muitos outros cenários históricos. Isso aconteceu quando encontrei essa obra sobre os macedônios.

Como sempre encontro em todos os seus livros, este também foi muito bem pesquisado, contextualizado, e utilizou uma ampla variedade de fontes. Gosto de Goldsworthy porque apresenta reflexões sobre as ideologias que influenciaram as fontes literárias mais antigas. E eu estava buscando justamente uma obra que tratasse não só de Alexandre, como é o habitual, mas de Philip também. Afinal, desde o início ficou muito claro para mim que o pai era tão ou mais competente que o filho. Claro que não estou diminuindo a grandeza de Alexandre, mas muito do que se diz dele é influenciado por uma aura de mistério que permeia toda...

Brazil on Jul 12, 2023

Magic Jack: If it is your first book on the subject it is more than fine, but I still prefer Peter Green's "Alexander of Macedon".

Poland on Jun 25, 2023

Dutch Ottoman: Goldsworthy is too careful with his sources to commit to any judgement. If you know the story of Alexander and his father already, there is not too much more to add. As Peter Green mentioned in 1990, "After all, in the broadest sense...the facts of Alexander's life are not really in dispute". What makes history exciting is the willingness of the historian to assemble the sources and from them draw an interpretation. As mentioned, Goldsworthy tended to hedge his bets. I still prefer Peter Green's more engrossing and exciting "Alexander of Macedon". But, if it is your first book on the subject it is more than fine. My favourite book of Goldsworthy remains to be "The Fall of Carthage".

United States on Jun 15, 2023

Vinnie: Really two separate biographies in one book. But written in a way that clearly shows how Alexander benefited from his father's experience and conquests, and just as clearly demonstrates that Philip should be known as Philip the Great. In many ways he accomplished more than Alexander, as he started with nothing and created the "nation" of Macedonia and the first Macedonian empire by a combination of conquest and guile. Alexander would not have accomplished so much so fast if not for Philip. They are interconnected and this book really makes that connection clear. Very readable, though perhaps a bit dense for some general readers. I loved it.

United States on Nov 30, 2022

Pedro: Mr. Goldsworthy delivers again in his latest book. I’ve became a fan of his while reading In the Name of Rome due to his fast-paced writing style and his effective balancing of detail and brevity. He frequently points to inconsistencies in the original sources, explaining personal, cultural and political motivations for these. He also takes time going through different modern interpretations of some events. These two factors enhance enormously the complexity of all the occurrences described, adding various shades of gray and uncertainty to the narrative. The book is supplemented by extensive notes and a vast bibliography for further reference, which are very useful to understand the context in which the events take place.

Concerning the text, I fully validate the author decision to depict father and son in the book, since it gives a much fuller account on how Alexander was able to do as much as he did. Philip made a truly herculean effort (and was very lucky) to catapult Macedon from a second-rate semi-barbarous Greek polis into the political and military leadership of Greece. Alexander is usually lauded as a military genius, but one can see that the apple didn’t fell...

Brazil on Mar 16, 2021

Tim Zagurskie: This was an interesting look at these two famous men, especially Philip. I have long studied Alexander, but really only knew the basics about Philip so this book was very useful to expanding my knowledge on the man that, too often, is usually remembered as Alexander's father. Goldsworthy does a good job of explaining the achievements of Philip along with highlighting the diplomatic and military abilities of this Macedonian king.

As regards the part of the book that covers Alexander there will not be much here that will surprise students of the greatest military commander in history. Rather, the value of this part of the book lies in Goldsworthy's analysis and discussion of the sources available to the historian in piecing together the true picture of Alexander. There is also discussion about how ones view of Alexander colors the use of the sources as well as examining the perils of viewing Alexander(and all of Greek culture) through the prism of our own times. As Goldsworthy points out, Athens (for all its academic and artistic achievements) was still just as harsh as any of its other neighbors and rivals.

In the end, I learned a lot of new things about Philip and...

United States on Jan 18, 2021