Within the span of thirteen years, Alexander the Great changed the face
of the world more decisively and with more long-lasting effects than
any other statesman has ever done. It is therefore no surprise that
there has been, and still is, so much debate about both his personality
and his achievement. The great merit of Professor Hammond's biography
is that, with impressive mastery of the evidence, he sets the record
straight between the extremes of romantic hero worship on the one hand
and scholarly demolition on the other. Based on his detailed knowledge
of the...