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Although we have no shortage of recent Alexander books, there are only a few that are really must-reads. One of these is, in my view, written by Sabine M++ller, *Massnahmen der Herrschaftssicherung geneg++ber der makedonischen Opposition bei Alexander dem Grossen* (2003).One of the greatest assets of this book is that the author has not accepted the current iranological paradigm (as developed by Briant and the members of the Achaemenid History Workshops). This gives her book a slightly old-fashioned outlook, but there is nothing wrong with not believing what is written by Briant c.s. In fact, one of my complaints about modern iranology is that Briant's ideas are no longer discussed and are accepted as "communis opinio". He has many good ideas, but he is not god. So, a book that ignores Briant is a good idea. Which does not mean that one can discuss ancient Persia without reading Briant's *Histoire de l' Empire Perse* (1995).Until now, the book has been ignored in the English-speaking world, but Ralf Strootman has now written a review: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-11-32.html . He finds much to praise, and ends with a critical note in which he measures M++ller by the Briant standard.Jona

Thanks for that, Jona. In fact, thanks for the link to Bryn Maw overall - I've scanned through and seen a lot of reviews that were worth reading (even of books I already have). I shall return!(Nice to see your review on Heckel & Yardley's "Sources", getting in your beef about the lack of non-Greek/Roman sources )All the bestMarcus