Alexander the Great

His Life and His Mysterious Death

De: Anthony Everitt

Narrado por: John Lee

What can we learn from the stunning rise and mysterious death of the ancient world’s greatest conqueror? An acclaimed biographer reconstructs the life of Alexander the Great in this magisterial revisionist portrait.

“[An] infectious sense of narrative momentum . . . Its energy is unflagging, including the verve with which it tackles that teased final mystery about the specific cause of Alexander’s death.”—The Christian Science Monitor

More than two millennia have passed since Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched to every corner of the ancient world, from the backwater kingdom of Macedonia to the Hellenic world, Persia, and ultimately to India—all before his untimely death at age thirty-three. Alexander believed that his empire would stop only when he reached the Pacific Ocean. But stories of both real and legendary events from his life have kept him evergreen in our imaginations with a legacy that has meant something different to every era: in the Middle Ages he became an exemplar of knightly chivalry, he was a star of Renaissance paintings, and by the early twentieth century he’d even come to resemble an English gentleman. But who was he in his own time?

In Alexander the Great, Anthony Everitt judges Alexander’s life against the criteria of his own age and considers all his contradictions. We meet the Macedonian prince who was naturally inquisitive and fascinated by science and exploration, as well as the man who enjoyed the arts and used Homer’s great epic the Iliad as a bible. As his empire grew, Alexander exhibited respect for the traditions of his new subjects and careful judgment in administering rule over his vast territory. But his career also had a dark side. An inveterate conqueror who in his short life built the largest empire up to that point in history, Alexander glorified war and was known to commit acts of remarkable cruelty.

As debate continues about the meaning of his life, Alexander's death remains a mystery. Did he die of natural causes—felled by a fever—or did his marshals, angered by his tyrannical behavior, kill him? An explanation of his death can lie only in what we know of his life, and Everitt ventures to solve that puzzle, offering an ending to Alexander’s story that has eluded so many for so long.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Reads as easily as a novel . . . [Anthony] Everitt has a wealth of anecdotes and two millennia of histories to work with, and he delivers and interprets them flawlessly. Nearly unparalleled insight into the period and the man make this a story for everyone.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Everitt, an expert storyteller, has written a riveting narrative that restores Alexander to his own context—and takes a whack at solving the remaining mysteries. . . . Along the way, he takes us on a spirited passage through the ancient world, from the Balkans to South Asia.”—BookPage

“Ancient history expert Everitt attacks the young Macedonian king’s astonishing conquests on three continents—Africa, Asia, and Europe—with relish. . . . This detailed account of the intriguing ancient military genius will fascinate military history readers eager to learn more about Alexander’s motivation and the lifelong fearlessness that propelled him to near-mythic status.”—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Anthony Everitt

The Rise of Rome

“Fascinating history and a great read.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism.”—The Dallas Morning News

Cicero

“An excellent introduction to a critical period in the history of Rome . . . Cicero comes across much as he must have lived.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Riveting . . . a clear-eyed biography [offering] vivid lessons about the viciousness that can pervade elected government.”—Chicago Tribune

Augustus

“Fascinating and brisk to read . . . All the stuff of adventure is here, from court intrigue to roving armies to shipwreck.”—The Washington Post Book World

“A narrative of sustained drama and skillful analysis . . . an accomplished biography.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Fantastic Journey!

Expertly read and captivating story of one of the most brilliant and ruthless commanders ever to live.

His genius

He was an enigma. His brutality was overwhelming. He was a genius and kindness was also in his heart.

Alexander's Resilience!

Alexander the Great was infatuated with his own grandeur. It's a pity that such a brilliant young man was so caught up a fantasy that ruined him as a person.

One of the top Alexander the Great books

Alexander the Great by Anthony Everitt captures, better than any account I’ve read so far, the profound paradox at the heart of one of history’s most consequential figures.

Alexander was everything at once: a visionary and a destroyer; an idealistic student of Aristotle and Homer and a relentless warrior who led from the front; a unifier of diverse cultures and a brutal agent of immense suffering. In a life cut short at just 32, he changed the world and permanently altered the course of history.

I’ve immersed myself in Alexander over the past month and a half, and this is the fourth book I’ve read on him. In many ways, it’s my favorite.

What sets Everitt apart is his willingness to “tell it like it is.” That kind of candor is surprisingly rare in classical biography. While the other books I’ve read are all strong—and each approaches Alexander from a slightly different angle—Everitt’s clarity, balance, and fearlessness made this one stand out. I pulled a great deal from it.

Everitt reminds us just how young Alexander was. Crowned king of Macedonia at only twenty, he inherited not just a throne but a formidable military system shaped by his father, Philip II. Alexander learned quickly and brilliantly—but he was also impulsive, emotional, and deeply human.

The book does not shy away from the darker, messier aspects of his life. Alexander liked to party—hard. Undiluted wine (think brandy-level strength), lavish feasts that often spiraled into raucous, drunken chaos, and gatherings that could—and did—end in violence and death. There was a lot of SEX in this book as well. A bit
“R” rated. The author focuses a lot on the differences of life in BCE and now. Hard times and power disparities.
Everitt communicates this with remarkable clarity and aplomb, never sensationalizing but never sanitizing either.

He is also unafraid to engage with controversy. Through careful scholarship, Everitt explores Alexander’s deep emotional bond with his childhood friend and closest military companion, Hephaestion. When Hephaestion died suddenly in 324 BCE, the loss was catastrophic. Everitt convincingly shows that Alexander never truly recovered from the loss of his great love. that this grief, more than any battlefield wound, signaled the beginning of the end.

What I appreciated most is Everitt’s balance. He neither excuses Alexander’s brutality nor flattens him into a simple tyrant. Instead, he presents a complex, deeply flawed human being whose brilliance and destructiveness were inseparable.

I really enjoyed this book. Everitt’s writing is clear, engaging, and confident, and his research is worn lightly but effectively. Of all the Alexander biographies I’ve read recently, this one felt the most honest—and the most human.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in Alexander not as myth, but as man.

Fascinating look into the ancient past

This is the third book I have listened to by Anthony Everitt, I have been very impressed with all of them. He brings history together in an easy to follow and interesting format. Highly recommend.