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Title: The Nature of Alexander by Mary Renault ISBN: 0-394-73825-X Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 November, 1979 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.07 (15 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Alexander revisited
Comment: Last October, I read and reviewed Peter Green's biography of Alexander the Great, ALEXANDER OF MACEDON, 356-323 B.C., to which I gave five stars. It was subsequently suggested to me that Green's book was a "hatchet job", and that I should read Mary Renault's THE NATURE OF ALEXANDER for a more balanced view.
Renault's volume is very readable. In factual substance, it seems to my unscholarly eyes to be pretty much the same as Green's. I certainly didn't learn significantly more about Alexander from the former than the latter, though that portion of Renault's narrative concerning Alexander's death was fleshed out a bit more. Renault, however, strikes me as a much more sympathetic biographer. Whether this adds more truth to her version is, and will remain, indeterminable by me.
In balance, I think I would choose and recommend Green's biography for the simple reason that he includes over a dozen route maps and battle plans that help the reader put Alexander's accomplishments in better perspective. Renault provides none at all, and the absence of such is a significant omission, in my opinion. Alexander led his Macedonians from the north of Greece to the western border of the Indian subcontinent - the edge of his known world - and almost all the way back again. Twenty-five thousand miles in eleven years! It isn't until you see this plotted on a map of the region that the remarkable accomplishment can be appreciated.
THE NATURE OF ALEXANDER reinforced my opinion that Alexander was the greatest military commander of all time and the most charismatic and successful leader of men who's ever lived. At one point, just prior to marching homeward from India, Alexander was gravely wounded by an arrow that penetrated his lung. The rumor spread through the army that he was dead, and he felt it necessary to show himself. Renault quotes Nearchus:
"... he ordered a horse to be fetched him. And when he mounted it ... the whole army clapped their hands repeatedly, and the banks and the river glades threw back the sound. (Near his tent he dismounted), so that the army could see him walking. They all ran to him from every side, some touching his hands, some his knees, some his clothing ..."
What an experience it must have been to march to the ends of the earth with such a King!
Rating: 5
Summary: The best explanation on Alexander The Great's character
Comment: How does one begin to understand the nature of one of the most famous figures in world history? What is the reason
for the enduring fame of this western conquerer in Asia
and the rest of the world? Who is Alexander The Great?
Read Mary Renault's The Nature Of Alexander. Mary Renault
does more to explain Alexander and the reasons for what
he did in her book than all the scholars in their academic
works. And she does it very entertainingly too.
You'd think you're reading another of her historical romances but
this one is true. Anyone who is remotely interested in
ancient Greece and Alexander in particular should make
this a must-read item in their booklist.
This book also comes with a brief chronology of Macedonian
kings. The opening chapter of this book is unforgetabble -- it
tells of Alexander's death and of how his body was moved
to Eygpt. Ms Renault's eye for historical details transports you to
the place so much so you feel you're witnessing the incidents yourself.
Her canny reading of Alexander's character makes you
beleive the often held belief that Ms Renault had somehow transcended
time and managed to get in touch with his spirit. Simply
brilliant!
Rating: 5
Summary: The Nature of Alexander
Comment: Mary Renault does a marvelous job once again. This is a must read !
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Title: The Persian Boy by Mary Renault ISBN: 0394751019 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 February, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault ISBN: 0375726829 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Funeral Games by Mary Renault ISBN: 0375714197 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B. C.: A Historical Biography by Peter Green ISBN: 0520071662 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: October, 1992 List Price(USD): $17.44 |
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Title: The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault ISBN: 0375726810 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 10 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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