The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great » (Reprint)

STEVEN PRESSFIELD is the author of the hugely successful historical novels Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and Last of the Amazons. His debut novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was made into a movie starring Matt Damon and Will Smith in 2000. He lives in California.

Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) ascended to the throne of Macedon at the age of twenty. He fought his greatest battles - including the conquest of the mighty Persian Empire - before he was twenty-five and died at the age of thirty-three, still undefeated by any enemy. His reputation as supreme warrior and leader of men is unsurpassed in the annals of history. In this brilliantly imagined first-person voice of Alexander the Great, acclaimed novelist Steven Pressfield brings to life his epic battles, his unerring command of his forces, and the passions and ambitions that drove him.

Publishers Weekly

"I have always been a soldier. I have known no other life." Esteemed historical novelist Pressfield (Gates of Fire; Tides of War) crawls inside the brave heart of Alexander the Great in this chronicle of the king's bloody and extraordinary accomplishments and boundless ambition. Presented as Alexander's confessions (and lessons) to his brother-in-law, Itanes, as the Macedonian commander and his increasingly reluctant armies try to figure out how to cross "this river of India" to engage in yet another battle, the novel tells of Alexander's father's last victory (the defeat of the Greeks at Chaeronea) before his assassination; of how, over his father's corpse, Alexander cements his plans for future campaigns; of his struggle with his "daimon," which would call him to glory; of his burning of Thebes; of his march east and his slaughter throughout Asia; of his murder of his friend Cleitus ("I felt his spine shear"). Alexander's voice swoops from high-minded rhetoric to earthy vernacular as he regales Itanes with bloody battle scenes and stories of horror and triumph. For devotees of Alexandrite military history-and there are many-this is a sympathetic if slightly overlong portrait of a man who knew no doubt: "Fame imperishable and glory that will never die: that is what we march for!" (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.