KC Podcast - Episode 117: Passing the Baton

Alexander the Great

I just finished reading Alexander the Great by Jacob Abbott. Jacob was one of a pair of brothers, John being the other one, who wrote a series of historical biographies for young people in the 1800s. The books begin with Cyrus the Great and move chronologically up to the time of Napoleon, which was recent history at the time of writing.

This book is a very general history of Alexander the Great that gives a big-picture view of his life. It was originally written for young people, so it is fairly simplified and contains quite a few educational excursions on such topics as Greek mythology, how oases are formed, how camels survive in the desert, etc. However, it is well-written, exciting, and energetic. I'm planning on reading Paul Cartledge's book on Alexander the Great soon and wanted a general overview of Alexander's life in narrative form before I wade into the historiography of it all. This is just the sort of book I was looking for, and it would serve well as a good introduction to Alexander for both younger and older readers.

4/5 stars

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