A Review of Alexander the Great - Book Report/Review Example

There are pantheon of scholars who have dedicated a lion-share to build the image and aura of Alexander the Great, but there are very few scholars and authors like Philip Freeman who have shown the desperation and right amount of insight to probe into the life and reign of Alexander. Philip Freeman, one of the most veteran classicists and historians retells the story of the world famous conqueror under a new light. The book, “Alexander the Great” throws light on the achievements of the great conqueror on one hand and on the other hand provides a very thorough insight upon the great statured personae of the famous king.

The book appeared before its readers in the year 2011 in the month of October and since then the book has continued attracting scholars, students and general inquisitive minds for its indelible and impeccable reading upon the life and work of the great king who has remained inside the huge walls of obscurity for a long time. THESIS STATEMENT This essay intends to focus on the life and achievements of the great king Alexander as recorded and researched by the renowned historian Philip Freeman in his insightful book, “Alexander the Great”.

The review of the book captivated within this essay does not impart a running commentary about the content of the book at a very mundane plane. Contrarily, the essay intends to investigate the approaches and probe into the methodology undertaken by the veteran scholar and author to shade the life of the great king Alexander in a different hue by a thorough and a close reading of the book, “Alexander the Great”. REVIEW The illustrative book by Philip Freeman bears a very systematic anatomy and logical approach towards the content of the book which at the outset indicates a thorough research pursuit by the author Philip Freeman.

The book is divided into eleven chapters that throw light on the life, work, reign, achievements and failures of the great king with categorical reasons behind each aspect. It is quite noteworthy to mention at this juncture that the author has undoubtedly judged the life of the great king from a very close contour. Eventually, this introspection enabled to unveil one of the most unique facets of the great emperor which Freeman also believes is one of the potent reasons of the ageless fascination towards this great king of Macedon.

Freeman through tracing the biography of the great king tried to prove a very important point about the influence Alexander the great had on the history of the world which was not discussed quite elaborately at length before. Freeman focuses upon the fact that the amount of influence the ancient Greek culture had on the history and cultures across the world would not have been so much intense without the contribution of the Alexander and his regime. According to Freeman, very few people other than Alexander have been so much influential in dictating the shape of the ancient history and culture across the globe thereby establishing a monumental influence and leaving behind a deep impression in the minds of the generation timelessly.

In the section, bearing the title, ‘Author’s Note and Acknowledgements’, Freeman himself quotes the motif behind unveiling the myriad facets of Alexander’s life very subtly. Freeman writes, “I grew up fascinated by this man, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to immerse myself in the ancient and modern sources on his life, to visit