Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy by Partha Bose

[Peter]

I read that BBC history magazine ranked this book in the top 10 history books of 2003, and heard that it is being used in many history, classics, as well as business and military programs in the US and UK. A professor of classics I know was planning to use it for his class. Does anyone have any experience of the book being used in a class? Any recommendations on the book itself?Peter

[gb]

I'm positive I've seen this book mentioned several times on this forum. I suggest you try the search function, since people may not be inclined to repeat their posts.If I remember correctly the reactions weren't all that positive...

[Jeanne]

Peter - I bought this book a while back, but haven't yet actually read it. The author is a well-known marketing director, not a historian. Then again from what I can tell of the book, having glanced through it, it's not really about ancient history at all, so much as about successful strategizing and prioritizing. He examines why Alexander was successful from the point of view of a businessman. It sounds rather interesting, although it may be that he accepts as historical some reports that are questionable (which isn't necessarily a problem, depending on how it's used).Every field has certain areas that can be pitfalls for those not trained in the discipline. In history, that pitfal is the tendency to take reports at face value when they may not have occurred at all, or likely occurred differently. Thucydides himself said, over 2000 years ago, "Most people don't take the trouble to find out the truth, but are inclined to accept the first story they hear." Which is not to say this fellow necessarily did that (as I haven't read the book yet), but it's a common kind of mistake. Then again, for the purpose of which he's writing, I'm not sure a professional historian (living in the ivory tower of academia) would necessarily be the best choice. :-DDr. Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman;
287-K ASH, Dept. of History;
University of Nebraska at Omaha;
Omaha, NE 68182; 402/554-2489

[jan]

May I suggest that you pick up a copy of the book itself? There is a picture of its cover on Karnaketernal which I am sure that you could access. I am reading it myself now. It is very informative and interesting, and as Dr. Zimmerman has stated, it is not a history book.