Alexander, Invincible King of Macedonia, Tsouras

[jan]

Hi Dean:Specifically, I want to stress that this book is a love story. It is an excellent book, emphasizing the love between Alexander and his troops. But I have decided to write a few sentences from the book:P. 48: Only a soldier will know what wings are given to the spirit when the commander single out men by name in praise for their valor. He had a photgraphic memory and could recall thousands of names and biographies at will. P.61: One story has Alexander taking afrightful revenge on the corpse of Batis by dragging him around the city his heels from the back of his chariot. None of the accounts that stem from his officers who were there supports it, and it would seem completely out of character for Alexander to avenge himself on the corpse of a eunuch in a grotesque burlesque of his beloved Iliad.P. 83: As he led the assault, he was struck by a stone in the head and throat and sank into the darkness of a severe concussion.P. 104: In this mutual need, love was forged, and expresed in the Greek words, to philotimo, literally and inadequately translated as "love of honor", the challenge to be the best, to be great-hearted and generous. To philotimo also means the refusal to demean oneself in the eyes of comrades, to be faithful unto death. continued in a paragraph detailing the proofs of love between Alexander and his following. climaxed with When he poured the water into the sand in the desert, he gave the purist demonstration of this love.It is a book worth reading to understand an army intelligence officer's point of view. I suspect that throat was intended to be neck, and is a proofreader's mistake. Such is probably the case with many copies of translations.