An imagination of dazzling and epic scope.With “Steven Pressfield” on the cover, it took less than a heartbeat for me to grab this book—after Gates of Fire, I was more than eager to be caught up again in the author’s enthralling prose of storytelling.Even with the author’s Note on the Reader expressly stating this as a work of fiction, I soon found myself actually believing that it really was Alexander speaking his own thoughts—as he tasted the first of his numerous victories, received the adora...

Written in first person, this novel tells the story of Alexander's conquests through his own words. This book was a major turn-off in the beginning because it was nothing more than a statistical summary of all the components of his army during one campaign versus another. He would list in detail the types of weapons his men carried, how much these weapons weighed, how they were utilized and why they were so effective in certain situations. Also a lot of detail on battlefield strategy, which inte...

I actually liked this one more than I thought I would. I started reading it coming off the back of having read Mary Renault’s excellent Alexander trilogy not long before, which, for me, is the definitive Alexander fiction, and I went into this book feeling dubious as to whether it could compare. It couldn’t, but it wasn’t all that bad. I certainly enjoyed it more than I did Steven Pressfield’s Last of the Amazons, which was confusing, anachronistic, and had huge plotholes. The voice of Alexander...

There are very few stories in the short history of civilization that can match that of Alexander the Great. The name alone inspires a kind of awe, and after reading Steven Pressfield's impressive historical-fiction account, I feel as though I have a better appreciation for just how amazing Alexander's life was. In his twenties he was breaking apart the Sacred Band of Thebes, assaulting the Persian empire, and conquering further and faster than anyone to the time had dreamed of doing. It's one th...

Solid 3 stars but not because of any fault of the author!! Just too technical for my tastes. His knowledge of Alexander's campaigns is unbelievable and any student of Alexander, I'm sure, will rave about this read. I appreciated, near the end, the description of what is needed to vanquish an army utilizing guerrila tactics and that logic would explain the U.S. inability to have success against such an eney in Vietnam!

**Should Read as 4.5 Stars!**Read this book in 2007, and its a wonderful standalone book about Alexander the Great.This tale is set between the years 356 until 323 BC and it will the rise, the conqueror of the Persian Empire before he was 25, and the end of his life at the age of 32.Alexander was a man of many talents, from the brutal avenger of his father's murder, a student to Aristotle, a commander of genius and the conqueror of nations.This tale wonderful tale about Alexander is brought to u...

I dropped the book after reading more than 300 pages of it, which is not something I do often. It was, however, in turns frustrating and boring, and - after Gaugamela - I couldn't even bring myself to care if and how Alexander defeats Porus. [Spoiler alert: Alexander died without ever losing a battle.] When I say the book was boring, however, I don't mean boring in the sense of ponderous, verbose or over-descriptive. On the contrary, "The Virtues of War" was awfully concise. To the point of bein...

As usual Pressfield writes brilliantly, though this isnt one of his best. It was much more exploratory of the philosophy and mindset of warriors than of the story of the men. Of course, middling Pressfield is still better than most.

A great book about an even greater warrior! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of Alexander the Great. Instantly, it was 327 BC, and I was standing alongside him in the most fierce battles—fast-paced, storytelling account of one of the most feared warriors, King and most certainly, legend. Historically correct from what I can remember. Wait, where's my chariot?

It's a 3 star. For many that translates into a fail, and most of the time it does for me too, but this one does fit well with the Goodreads description of what 3 star book means to a reader. 'Liked it'. Because I did. I liked it. It was not always thrilling or humanised enough for me. I never felt connected to Alexander (this is likely due to the first person narrative style of the book) and yet I did not dislike the book. It was simply one of those steady as she goes, beat the drum slowly kind

Argh such a disappointment. The life of Alexander the Great, told in a "Alexander telling his story to a young chum" style, this should've been really great!The story was still good, nice learning the basic facts, but the writing, man, sometimes there were just lists of "John went here with 10 men, Peter went there with 25 men on horses" which went on for half a page or more. As though Steven was trying to prove he did the research.Should've been great.

The novel was fairly interesting, but far from Pressfield's best. I thought he reached his apogee with Gates of Fire or possibly Afghan Campaign. This story begins with Alexander's men wishing to turn back from India and go home; they feel they've fought and died far enough from home for long enough. Alexander's in his tent with Itanes, his young brother-in-law, and wants "someone to talk to ... who can listen without judgment and keep his mouth shut...it is my role to instruct you [in the art o...

Virtues of War is what its title suggests, a treatise on the personality characteristics and decision making process of great warriors. It is, in the guise of narrative fiction, an instruction manual for leaders of troops, and is incredibly effective at what it does. I only wish I had read it before assuming my first command. Pressfield is a singular writer, and this is on offer in his ability to make Alexander, a historical figure so remote as to be deified, a sympathetic character who resonate...

A fictional account of Alexander's life in 1st person. It has some interesting points, but it reads more like Pressfield's philosophy than Alexander's. It does have some amazing descriptions of battles, including the Granicus, Issus and especially Gaugamela. It would probably help if you know at least the basics of Alexander's life because the names abound, and can easily become confusing.Strangely as I continued to read, the less I liked Alexander. His struggle to control his 'daimon', which is...

This Alexander isn't very gay, or very megalomaniacal. He does kick ass, however, and take names, all the way to the Indus and back. Got yer Gaugamela right here, Darius.

Steven Pressfield does it again with this haunting tale of Alexander the Great. I believe this book was released the same year as the Alexander movie starring Collin Farrell, and fans of the movie would probably enjoy this book as well. Both painted a vivid picture of Alexander's life through a brilliant narrative. Some of the battle sequences were written as if Pressfield was sitting astride his own mount on the periphery of the battlefield. Spectacular technical description was combined flawle...

Wouldn't it be neat to have an interview with Alexander the Great in which he tells of his life as a soldier in a very introspective manner. Short of a time machine, this novel provides the next best thing thanks to Steven Pressfield's ability to crawl inside the mind of the world's greatest conqueror. The story as told in Alexander's voice covers the spectrum of language from noble rhetoric to earthy solder's vernacular as it narrates the stories of horror and triumph. The battles are described...

"I am the living soul of the army. As blood flows from the lion's heart to its limbs, so courage flows from me to my countrymen. A million mend stand in arms against us. I will rout them by my will alone." That line absolutely captures the feeling of Alexander in this novel. Even though this work was not a good as Gates of Fire it is still and outstanding work. Reading it alongside another authors rendition of Alexander, this work breathes fire. Pressfield has an absolute masculine energy that i...

This my second Pressfield novel and is one of those books that inspired a lot of mixed feelings in me. I originally rated it four stars but I think I have to ultimately give it three. What it does, it does excellently, but what it lacks is totally nonexistent. While it does have a ton of fascinating information on Alexander's military and how he carved such a massive empire in a relatively short time without losing a single battle, it's almost impossible to engage on a personal level, which I re...