Non-fiction book reviews #3

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Alexias
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Non-fiction book reviews #3

Post by Alexias »

NON-FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Alexander the Great, Robin Lane Fox, 1974 (reprint: 1994)
Reviewer: Marcus Pailing


Robin Lane Fox’s Alexander the Great was the first academic book about Alexander that I read, and therefore I have a particular fondness for it. A.B. Bosworth described Lane Fox's approach as being to turn the 'search' for Alexander into a Boy's Own story - and there is nothing wrong with that. Indeed, for those who are just embarking on their own ‘search’ for Alexander, it makes the book an extremely good travelling companion: easy(ish) to read, with plenty of adventure and intrigue. Lane Fox states at the beginning that the book is not intended as a ‘history’ or ‘biography’ of Alexander, but as a ‘search’. This is important to remember, because there are a number of occasions when he offers us varying accounts of events without reaching a conclusion as to which account might be the true one. Legends are interspersed with historical fact, without always the critical analysis that we would get in other books. But that is not to say that I think this is a bad thing: Lane Fox is only doing what he set out to do. It does mean that the book is comprehensive in its enumeration of the facts, myths and legends surrounding Alexander. I said that Alexander the Great is ‘easy(ish)’ to read. This is because, although Lane Fox’s style is quite easy, I have always had two major complaints about the book. First, his paragraphs are too long. This might seem like a minor gripe, but paragraphs that go on for entire pages (and sometimes more!) force sustained reading, and there is such a wealth of information in the text that such sustained reading can make the narrative hard to follow. A bit more sensitivity towards the reader would have been helpful; and it would not, actually, have been very difficult to change the structure. Second, the notes are not very accessible. I have read the book four or five times now, and I like to think that I know my Alexandrian history and sources pretty well – but I still find the notes and references extremely difficult to follow. Having said all this, I still would recommend the book wholeheartedly. It could definitely do with a revised edition, if Lane Fox were prepared to do one, as a lot of study has gone on since the book was first published in the early 1970s. But, as I have already said, it is an excellent companion to any ‘search’ for Alexander. I formed many of my early opinions from reading it; and, to be honest, it is nice to come back to Lane Fox’s Alexander the Great every once in a while, after the assaults inflicted upon the conqueror by Bosworth, Worthington et al.

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 photos 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.

The Nature of Alexander, Mary Renault, 1974/1979 (now re-issued as: The Nature of Alexander the Great)
Reviewer: Marcus Pailing


You can read this book quickly and gain a good idea of Alexander's history, but it is an old book and akin to hero-worship. Ms Renault knew her subject, but this was not intended as an academic book - which is fine, so long as the reader remembers this!

Reviewer: Nick Welman
Ah, Renault! I must admit that I had never read her 'Nature' until quite recently, while my interest in Alexander goes back for many decades. But I was extremely pleased with this book, as it is so very well written and as it explores paths that few others dared to touch. You cannot love, hate, worship or despise Alexander without having read Renault first. As a work of art, this might be the greatest non-fiction study of Alexander.
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