Victor Davis Hanson's take on ATG

[Alex K.]

http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson100904b.htmlWhat do you think?

[jan]

I think it is amazing that he tried to cover so much material in a single treatise. It is very thorough, but a bit too lengthy. His final paragraph about the movie is in conflict with the previous discussions about the numerous books being released at this time. The books discuss the "historical" Alexander, debating whether he is good or great, etc., whether he overdid it when killing in the mass numbers, and whether he is just another Genghis Khan, Napoleon, or other world conqueror, but he movie section only discusses the plausibility of Angelina Jolie as a mother, a flamboyant Colin Farrel as a good or bad choice for Alexander. Movies are fantasty, superficial, and really have no place in a discussion of history.The thing that amazed me this morning is to find many more books on Alexander displayed at Barnes and Noble. The movie is supposed to generate big sales in the world of publishing, I can see that now. As the St. Petersburg Press said about George Washington years ago, there is money in them bones.

[susan]

It's an interesting and balanced review - thanks for posting it.Susan

[marcus]

A good piece. Of the four books he reviews I've only read Cartledge and Mosse, but I would generally agree with what Hansen says about them. I certainly don't hold out much hope for the Doherty book - although I'll be fascinated to see how he comes to the conclusion he does. If it's anything like his mystery novels about Alexander, then it will be pretty poor. As for the fourth - any book that offers new pictures is worth a shot, so I'll be looking out for that one.All the bestMarcus

[Linda]

Enjoyable - thanks for posting. Favourite quote:"And in the heart even of the most utopian academic rests the human sin of admiration for material achievement and military prowess: Alexander, like Caesar or Napoleon, did things not only that we would not do, but also which we could not if we wished."Linda

[Alex K.]

Generally I agree with your comments. Although I have read many of his books and am in agremment with a lot of his assertions he turn me off everytime he tries to judge history based on our current Western (JudeoClassical) morality. Anything not fitting that, whether it be Spartans, ALexander the Great, Nazis or Islamist Wahhabis gets an ugly label and is attacked. I guess he strikes me as arrogant at times which can turn me off someone's writings quite easily.

[yiannis]

V.D.hanson is a devoted classicist and he denounces the value and the contribution of the Hellenistic era. My opinion is that he considers it a bit "degenarate" (if I may say so) and out of the Classical Greece "ideal".