Review of The Conquests of Alexander the Great - Book Report/Review Example

Michael Bales History 101: Survey of Western Civilization I Review of The Conquests of Alexander the Great In the preface to his book The Conquests of Alexander the Great, author Waldemar Heckel states, "the aim of this book is to provide an intelligent introduction to the conquests of Alexander the Great (334-323 BC)" (ix). In making this statement and in the comments that follow it, Heckel stresses that the main point of his book is to explore the military and political aspects of Alexanders career particularly in terms of the consequences of actions and the progress of events in general. He very clearly states that it is not intended to be a complete look at Alexanders life, the intimate details of battles, or the intricate workings of various political and campaign intrigues. Whats more important, Heckel says, is understanding how the strategies and approaches used in Alexanders time are still the same today, after you make allowances for changes in technology. "Field Marshall Mongomery thought that even in the twentieth century the fundamental principles of war had not changed since ancient times" (ix). Heckels book is designed to argue against the hero worship of Alexander the Great and to move away from the investigations of his personality in order to look more objectively at his actual accomplishments and defeats. Heckel is an appropriate person to have written such a book because he is a professor in the department of Greek and Roman studies at the University of Calgary. He has studied Alexander the Great for a long time and has written several books about him. He is also on the board of dedicated newsletters regarding this time period and he has helped with translations of ancient text about the time of Alexander the Great. This goal of providing a realistic overview of Alexanders accomplishments and their importance to todays leaders is carried through the major chapters of the book. The book is organized into nine major chapters, but they are not necessarily the chronological sequence one might expect for such a book. Heckel starts the book with a preface that explains his primary goal in writing the book and then provides an extensive timeline graph of Alexanders life and some maps that show the growth of his empire. This is finally followed by a generalized introduction to the historical figure he discusses as well as why Alexander is considered so great for todays leaders. In establishing the context leading up to Alexander, Heckel continues to relate events to similar events today. An example of this is when he says, "The extent of Persian intervention is doubtless exaggerated, but there was sufficient evidence of subversive activity that contemporaries were quick to see the gilded hand of the King or his satrap behind virtually every action, just as today the conspiracy theorist attributes every international crisis to the machinations of the CIA" (3). He does not attempt to provide a basic timeline of Alexanders life in this chapter, but instead attempts to demonstrate how Alexander achieved the impact that he had upon the world. "This book is not about the impact of Alexanders conquests but rather the means by which these were effected, from the formulation of policy to the generation of propaganda and the attainment of its ends by military means" (4). Understanding the means by which Alexander achieved his success helps us understand how wars are still fought today and how they work to prevent later reconciliation and partnership. From this basic introduction to the subject, Heckel moves on to discuss how we know the information we do about this ancient leader. The second chapter of the book, like the first, does little to address Alexander the man because it is devoted entirely to exploring the sources of information we have that tell us about Alexander. He starts the chapter by discussing the problems with historical research, especially looking that far back. "Statistical analyses fail for want of sufficient data; historical interpretation falters on the broken ground of textual corruption, authorial bias, and the unintentional but misguided superimposition of Roman ideas and institutions on Greek subjects" (5). With all the lack of reliable information, it seems it would be impossible to write with any kind of authority on the subject of any ancient king, even one as famous as Alexander. After revealing how limited the ancient texts are, Heckel talks about the three primary authors that did write during Alexanders time and whose work has survived in some form to today. These three writers are Callisthenes, Onesicritus, and Nearchus, each of which wrote about their own interests in the kings campaigns such as their position as the appointed journal writer, the life at court, or the life with the fleet, but none of them gave clear indication of the overall history and all of them had their own biases, strengths and weaknesses. Other early writers were Cleitarchus, Ptolemy son of Lagus, and Aristobulus of Cassandreia. As history progressed, the writings about Alexander began to fall into one of two categories, the popular tradition and the apologetic tradition. By discussing the positive and negative elements of these various ancient sources, Heckel demonstrates what he calls source criticism. Through the process of source criticism, it is possible to understand that there arent really good sources and bad sources, but instead a wide selection of more or less reliable evidence that supports, expands, rejects or denies what others have said. By comparing the various sources, the historian makes his own assessment of what is most likely, most believable, most realistic, and then presents it along with his evidence to others. Heckel doesnt begin to get into the chronological discussion until chapter three in which he discusses the context of Macedonia as Alexanders position was prepared for him by his father, Phillip II. It was Phillips inventiveness that enabled the Macedonian/Athenian army to take control over Greece. A good part of the chapter is dedicated to the fight that happened between Alexander and Phillip on Phillips wedding night to his fourth wife Cleopatra and Phillips murder not long afterward. Whether Alexander had any part in the murder, it is clear that he took some very decisive moves to ensure he would retain the crown he was meant to have. At the time, Phillip had been planning an invasion to free his people from the Persian king and Alexander adopted that objective as his own, both as a tactical move to secure his position and because it was his own wishes as well. Discussions of Alexanders battle strategies against the Persians illustrate their similarity to each other, "but for the difficulties of the terrain at Issus, all three of Alexanders major battles against the Persians followed this general pattern" (28) of divide and conquer quickly. The general deployments of these battles also help to inform Alexanders strategic approach to politics back at home to further secure his position. From this point forward, Heckel concentrates each chapter on the major military and political events of Alexanders life, creating an exciting journey of discovery for his readers through explorations of the Persian enemy, the suppression of unrest at home in the Achaemenids, Alexanders war on two fronts as he constantly struggled to hold his position at home and away, the conquest of the Punjab to secure the empires eastern edge, Alexanders movement toward the ocean and the west, and then concluding with Alexanders final march from Susa to Babylon. In each discussion, Heckel provides the contextual background of military and political positions and movements of the area before he begins to discuss Alexanders entry into it and his effect upon it. These discussions help to set the stage of what Alexander had to work with and fight against at the same time that it helps the reader to understand why each region was important to Alexanders success. For example, in the chapter about the Persian enemy, Heckel makes it clear that the Persians had been a long-time sore spot for people in the Hellenic world at the same time that he continues to make it clear that these events have their parallels in more modern times. "Greek anxieties about Persia were probably not much different from those of westerners during the Cold War with regard to the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and equally contrived" (37). The Greeks needed a reason to come together in battle rather than fighting among themselves and the Persians were a strong scapegoat because of past history. This supports one of Heckels main goals of the book which is to illustrate how similar strategies are still used today to try to unite widely different people and ideas together under a common cause. Many of the chapters also discuss Alexanders deliberate use of propaganda, such as staging games in honor of the Muses and the Olympian gods; making sacrifices to Zeus, Poseidon, and the Nereids; and building on legends of god-given weaponry as symbols of favor and success. "The accounts of the battle of the Granicus are, however, uniform in their portrayal of Alexander as the daring and charismatic leader of the Panhellenic crusade ... Callisthenes is not just selling the war to the Greek allies; he is manufacturing an image. Here is a leader worth following, here are military exploits worth sharing" (50). Through propaganda and then innovative strategies of movement, Alexander achieved his success and set the model for the centuries to follow. The book also includes a lot of extra material besides just the body text. In addition to the timeline graph and maps already mentioned, there are three appendices which detail Alexanders officers, his troop numbers and his administrative approach for the empire. A glossary and list of abbreviations makes sure that any complicated words or unusual abbreviations used in the body of the book are explained. A notes section makes it possible for Heckel to skip over some of the more detailed information in the body of the book while still providing readers with the information if they want it, and a bibliography makes sure readers can go and look up the sources Heckel used to find out more about the man and the events that are discussed. Throughout the book, Heckel uses footnotes to refer to the notes, which also give information regarding the sources he used to support his claims. For example, the notes section is divided by chapter, with the small numbers that appear in the body of the book in order under each appropriate chapter heading, such as "Chapter One: Introduction" followed by "1.". Then comes the citation of where the information came from, "Cargill 1977" and sometimes some discussion of what that source had to say (173). Whether there is any discussion or just a page number, these references can then be found in the bibliography listed according to the Turabian style of referencing which is often used for works that deal with history. This style lists the authors last name and date of publication in a left column in line with the more complete reference information provided in a much wider right column. The full reference includes the authors first initials followed by their last name, a comma and then the name of the article in quotes before listing the editors of the book the article appears in and the title of the book in italics. The reference is finished with the place of publication, a semi-colon, and the publisher names in parentheses, then a colon and the page numbers on which the article appears. Finally, the book offers an index so that it is easier to find specific information in the book itself. This book provides the reader with a lot of information about the military movements of Alexander the Great and the contexts that helped guide their direction. Heckel doesnt talk a lot about Alexander the man, as he said he wouldnt from the beginning. Within this approach, Heckel provides very few comments about what he thinks of Alexander as a person. When he does make a comment about him, it is to illustrate how Alexander was human, reacting and acting according to the opinions and understandings of the time. The whole focus of the book is just to understand how and why Alexander directed his campaigns. In doing this, he continuously finds parallels with modern times and strategies. Of course, these parallels are not perfect, partly because technology has changed and mostly because they only exist on general areas. The ancient Greeks feelings for the Persians were probably not exactly the same as the Western nations feelings toward the Soviet Union and were certainly not caused by the same exact details, but such comparisons help to put things into perspective and make it possible to see how the psychology of battle really hasnt changed much. Since Heckel is just trying to provide a basic introduction to Alexander and demonstrate why he was such a great leader, there are a lot of details about Alexanders life that he doesnt discuss such as his childhood or relationships with others. Even though the book focuses on military conquests, Heckel also doesnt go very strongly into the deep details of the battles he discusses. This fits with the objective of this book which is just to give an introduction to Alexander. Anyone wanting more details can follow the references Heckel provides. Overall, this is a very good book to introduce someone to Alexander the Great because it shows why he is so great and gives a lot of context about the times and places where Alexander lived. Works Cited Heckel, Waldemar. The Conquests of Alexander the Great. New York: Cambridge, 2008. Print. Read More