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Book Reviews: Vergina

The Search for Alexander: An Exhibition, multiple contributors, New York Graphic Society Books, 1980
Reviewer: Forum Contributor
For most Alexanderphiles, this was the book in 1980. Published as a companion to the exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the book featured photographs and catalogue entries of the grave goods from the Vergina tombs. It is now considered a bit outdated in the text, but the photographs make it worth having.

The Search for Alexander, Robin Lane Fox, 1980 (440 pages, illustrated).
Reviewer: Nick Welman
This book was published seven years after Lane Fox's well known "Alexander the Great" and it accompanied both the international art exhibitions as well as a television special dedicated to the discovery of the Macedonian royal tombs in Vergina, Greece, in 1977. In that sense this book falls into the same category as Michael Wood's "In the Footsteps of...", both publications being part of wider media coverage about Alexander. "The Search for Alexander" is out of print, but you should be able to get hold of a second hand copy quite easily. (Mine arrived from amazon.com within a matter of days.) "The Search for Alexander" is a sort of synopsis of Lane Fox's earlier work, with some additions regarding the Vergina tombs. Lane Fox has done a better job this time, in my view. The text is much shorter, he does not pretend to present a scholarly study, but just retells the tale of Alexander in a pleasant tone of voice. The illustrations - both art and photography - make this a nice "hebbedingetje". (That's Dutch: an ornament.) There are about 200 illustrations, many in full color, many spread over two entire pages. The photo's of the Vergina tombs are good. If you have read about Alexander before, Lane Fox will tell you nothing new. If you enjoyed the illustrations in the books of Michael Wood and Pierre Briant, you will like to possess this one too. For a good second hand price, you can hardly be disappointed.

Vergina: The Royal Tombs
Reviewer: Forum Contributor
Manolis Andronicus offers another glimpse into the grave goods from the tombs, chapters include some discussion on the site, the various tombs and some information regarding the authors conclusions regarding the identity of the dead as well.



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