Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
{{Short description|Philip II and Alexander III of Macedon}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title =
| name = Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
| image = Philip and Alexander-Kings and Conquerors. Goldsworthy.jpg
| image_size =
| border =
| alt = 2020 Book jacket illustration
| caption = 2020 Book jacket
| author = Adrian Goldsworthy
| audio_read_by =
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| country = United Kingdom, United States of America
| language =
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| subject = Ancient Macedon, Ancient Greece, Ancient Persia
| genre = nonfiction
| set_in =
| publisher = Head of Zeus
| publisher2 = Basic Books
| pub_date = October 13, 2020
| english_pub_date =
| published =
| media_type = Print, Digital, Audio
| pages = 570+
| awards =
| isbn = 9781541646698
| isbn_note = Hardcover
| oclc = 1143640045
| dewey = 938/.070922 B
| congress = DF233.8.A44 G65M 2020
| preceded_by =
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| website = [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adrian-goldsworthy/philip-and-alexander/9780465095506/ Basic Books], [http://www.adriangoldsworthy.com/book13.php Author website]
}}
Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors is a single volume dual biography of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. It was written by Adrian Goldsworthy and published in 2020 by Head of Zeus in the United Kingdom and Basic Books in the United States.{{cite news| last = Romm| first = James| title = 'Philip and Alexander' Review: A Conqueror's Patrimony| newspaper = The Wall Street Journal| date = October 9, 2020| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/philip-and-alexander-review-a-conquerors-patrimony-11602256291| access-date =May 6, 2023}}
- [https://www.proquest.com/docview/2449466192/fulltext/EC8E7D7A09FE40DDPQ/1 This WSJ review is also available on ProQuest]{{cite news| last = Gray| first = Benjamin| title = Kings of democracy: Monarchy and the Athenian city state| newspaper = The Times Literary Supplement| date = September 10, 2021| url = https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-discourse-of-kinship-in-classical-greece-carol-atack-philip-and-alexander-adrian-goldsworthy-athens-after-empire-ian-worthington-review-benjamin-gray/| access-date =May 25, 2023}}
- Full text is also available on [https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=mlin_b_umass&id=GALE|A676218168&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-AONE&asid=255abf22. Academic Onefile].{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/S2058631021000313 | title=Philip & Alexander. Kings and Conquerors. (A.) Goldsworthy Pp.xliv +620, maps, b/W & colour PLS. London: Head of Zeus, 2020. Cased, £12.99. ISBN: 9781784978693 | year=2021 | last1=Pucknell | first1=Danny | journal=Journal of Classics Teaching | volume=22 | issue=44 | pages=122–123 | s2cid=238044936 | doi-access=free }}{{cite web| url = https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5416-4669-8
| title = Review: Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors| date = October 2020| website = Publishers Weekly| access-date = May 6, 2023}}
{{cite web
| url = https://www.military-history.org/feature/ancient/review-philip-and-alexander-kings-and-conquerors.htm
| title = Review: Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors...
| date = April 2021
| website = Military History Matters
| first =Stephen
{{cite web
| url = https://openlettersreview.com/posts/philip-and-alexander-by-adrian-goldsworthy
| title = Philip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy
| last = Donoghue
| first = Steve
| date = October 2020
| website = Open Letters Review}}
{{cite book
| last = Goldsworthy
| first = Adrian
| author-link = Adrian Goldsworthy
| title = Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
| publisher = Basic Books
| date = 2020
| location =
| url = https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adrian-goldsworthy/philip-and-alexander/9780465095506/
| isbn = 9780465095506}}
Synopsis
This book is a historical biography about Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. The book covers the lives of both men, from Philip's rise to power in Macedonia to Alexander's death in Babylon, a period of 78 years. Goldsworthy argues that Alexander's success and achievements wouldn't have been possible without Philip. Philip's military reforms and victories, along with uniting the Greek city-states under Macedonian rule, laid the foundation for Alexander's future conquests..Goldsworthy, p.3 Phillip built a strong army and greatly expanded his territory over decades. Then, due to his father's preparations, Alexander was able to launch campaigns that conquered significant swaths of Asia, the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and more territory all the way to the Indus River Valley.
Philip II turned ancient Macedon from a backwater to a superpower of its day. Philip and his army subdued the surrounding territories, and then heading south, conquered or politically controlled the ancient Greek poleis. Diplomatically, he avoided invading ancient Athens, preferring instead a strong alliance for his planned invasion of the Persian Empire. Stephen Batchelor, who reviews this book for Military History Matters says, "Through this narrative a clear picture emerges of Philip and Alexander as leaders, warriors, and politicians."
=About the book=
The book is divided into three main sections that cover 31 chapters, and an epilogue. The section titles are: "Part One: Philip II", "Part Two: Alexander and Persia", and "Part Three: Lord of Asia." It also has sixteen unnumbered pages of mostly colored plates, as well as maps and illustrations of battle formations. The book is referenced with notes for each chapter. It contains two appendixes, a bibliography and an index, showing that book is based on ancient and contemporary scholarly sources. The work of sifting through the sometimes conflicting ancient sources to tell the story is also part of the narrative.
Reception
James Romm for The Wall Street Journal writes, "[Goldsworthy's] Philip and Alexander is thus a compelling but temperate book, giving readers an in-depth but dispassionate account of its subjects." Stephen Batchelor, writing for the Military History Matters review of this book says, "For readers both new to the period and those very familiar with it, there is much to enjoy and to ponder in this fast-paced, authoritative, and incisive study."
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/philip-macedonia-even-greater-alexander-the-great-180974878/ | title=Was Philip of Macedon Even Greater Than His Son Alexander?|date=June 2020|last=Grant|first=Richard|publisher=Smithsonian Magazine}}.
- {{cite journal | jstor=1873539 | last1=Samuel | first1=Alan E. | title=Philip and Alexander as Kings: Macedonian Monarchy and Merovingian Parallels | journal=The American Historical Review | date=1988 | volume=93 | issue=5 | pages=1270–1286 | doi=10.2307/1873539 }}
External links
- {{official|https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adrian-goldsworthy/philip-and-alexander/9780465095506}}
- [https://headofzeus.com/books/9781784978693 Head of Zeus] (UK publisher).
- [http://www.adriangoldsworthy.com/book13.php Author website]
- {{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/25/archives/treasures-from-a-golden-tomb-macedonia.html | title=Treasures from a Golden Tomb | work=The New York Times | date=25 December 1977 | last1=Gage | first1=Joan }}
- [https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/alex/hd_alex.htm The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander the Great]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- "[https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110622942 The Courts of Philip II and Alexander the Great.]" Published by De Gruyter. 2022.
Category:2020 non-fiction books
Category:Biographies about royalty
Category:History books about ancient Greece
Category:History books about Asia