Alexander

Name: Alexander
Rating: 4.2 (1378 reviews)

by Steven Pressfield

Amazon

4.2(1,378)

Alexander of Macedon recounts his transformation from the young cavalry commander who fought beside Philip II at Chaeronea into the conqueror of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The campaign carries him through the Granicus, Issus, the siege of Tyre and Gaugamela before the capture of Persepolis, presenting each victory through the decisions, formations and personal loyalties that sustained the Macedonian army.

The conquest does not end with Persia. Alexander pursues resistance across Central Asia and advances into India, where the Battle of the Hydaspes tests both his tactical imagination and his soldiers' willingness to continue. The return through the Gedrosian Desert exposes the destructive limit of his ambition, as military brilliance hardens into an increasingly absolute conviction that no frontier should restrain him.

Historical Periods

Battle of Chaeronea338 BCE Battle of the Granicus334 BCE Battle of Issus333 BCE Siege of Tyre332 BCE Battle of Gaugamela331 BCE Burning of Persepolis330 BCE Battle of the Hydaspes326 BCE Achaemenid Persian Empire550–330 BCE Alexander’s Indian Campaign327–325 BCE Gedrosian Desert March325 BCE