Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors

by Adrian Goldsworthy Narrated by Neil Dickson

Overview

This definitive biography of one of history's most influential father-son duos tells the story of two rulers who gripped the world -- and their rise and fall from power.

Alexander the Great's conquests staggered the world. He led his army across thousands of miles, overthrowing the greatest empires of his time and building a new one in their place. He claimed to be the son of a god, but he was actually the son of Philip II of Macedon.

Philip inherited a minor kingdom that was on the verge of dismemberment, but despite his youth and inexperience, he made Macedonia dominant throughout Greece. It was Philip who created the armies that Alexander led into war against Persia. In Philip and Alexander, classical historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows that without the work and influence of his father, Alexander could not have achieved so much. This is the groundbreaking biography of two men who together conquered the world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A compelling but temperate book, giving readers an in-depth but dispassionate account of its subjects….Mr. Goldsworthy has a rare gift for imagining and describing ancient warfare….He combines the talents of scholar and storyteller, bringing to life the full drama of ancient history while assessing the evidence with a critical eye.”—Wall Street Journal

“[Goldsworthy] brings a careful, often insightful balance to the familiar stories.”—Open Letters Review

“Contributes significantly to making these scholarly developments accessible to a very wide audience, through engaging narratives which capture the political complexity of the Greek world both before and after Alexander. The major innovation of Goldsworthy's vivid Philip and Alexander is to pair Alexander's biography with that of his father, Philip II.”—Times Literary Supplement

“Belongs on the (sturdy) shelf of any reader interested in military, political, or social history.”—Minerva Magazine

“By pairing the two giants of Macedonia, Goldsworthy helps the reader understand Alexander's life all the better, and sheds light on the achievements and character of Philip.”—Aspects of History

“A gripping history that combined deep scholarship with readability ... This is an epic history. Very much in the vein of the Tom Holland histories of empire, enjoyable and informative but also gripping.”—NB Magazine

“Riveting...Goldsworthy is the best sort of writer on ancient times. He eschews psychohistory, explains the wildly unfamiliar culture of that era, and speculates carefully...An outstandingly fresh look at well-trodden ground.”—Kirkus (starred review)

“An impressive dual biography.... Goldsworthy expertly mines ancient sources to parse fact from legend...This is a fascinating and richly detailed look at two men who 'changed the course of history.'”—Publishers Weekly

“Thorough and riveting.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Philip and Alexander is another wonderful product of Adrian Goldsworthy's historical craft — sterling scholarship, engaging prose, insightful analysis, and unbiased assessment. Goldsworthy explores brilliantly the complex relationship between father and son, the failure of the Greek city-states to stop them, the proper credit for the Macedonian expansion, and the megalomania of Alexander's near global conquests. A brilliant account of how father and son changed the world, for both good and bad.”—Victor Davis Hanson, author of A War Like No Other

“A thrilling read, as successful in meeting its ambitions as Philip's kingship, as sweeping as Alexander's conquests.”—Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

“Philip and Alexander is history writing at its best. In one volume, Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of perhaps the most successful father-son pair of conquerors of all time. He highlights both the drama of their violent achievements and the consequences that were felt for centuries. The result is expert, fluent, and vivid.”—Barry Strauss, author of Ten Caesars

Times Literary Supplement

Contributes significantly to making these scholarly developments accessible to a very wide audience, through engaging narratives which capture the political complexity of the Greek world both before and after Alexander. The major innovation of Goldsworthy's vivid Philip and Alexander is to pair Alexander's biography with that of his father, Philip II.

NB Magazine

A gripping history that combined deep scholarship with readability ... This is an epic history. Very much in the vein of the Tom Holland histories of empire, enjoyable and informative but also gripping.

Aspects of History

By pairing the two giants of Macedonia, Goldsworthy helps the reader understand Alexander's life all the better, and sheds light on the achievements and character of Philip.

Wall Street Journal

A compelling but temperate book, giving readers an in-depth but dispassionate account of its subjects….Mr. Goldsworthy has a rare gift for imagining and describing ancient warfare….He combines the talents of scholar and storyteller, bringing to life the full drama of ancient history while assessing the evidence with a critical eye.

Open Letters Review

[Goldsworthy] brings a careful, often insightful balance to the familiar stories.

author of A War Like No Other: How the Athenia Victor Davis Hanson

Philip and Alexander is another wonderful product of Adrian Goldsworthy's historical craft — sterling scholarship, engaging prose, insightful analysis, and unbiased assessment. Goldsworthy explores brilliantly the complex relationship between father and son, the failure of the Greek city-states to stop them, the proper credit for the Macedonian expansion, and the megalomania of Alexander's near global conquests. A brilliant account of how father and son changed the world, for both good and bad.

Publishers Weekly

An impressive dual biography…Goldsworthy expertly mines ancient sources to parse fact from legend…This is a fascinating and richly detailed look at two men who ‘changed the course of history.’”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Riveting…Goldsworthy is the best sort of writer on ancient times. He eschews psychohistory, explains the wildly unfamiliar culture of that era, and speculates carefully.”

Minerva Magazine

Belongs on the (sturdy) shelf of any reader interested in military, political, or social history.

author of Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Aug Barry Strauss

Philip and Alexander is history writing at its best. In one volume, Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of perhaps the most successful father-son pair of conquerors of all time. He highlights both the drama of their violent achievements and the consequences that were felt for centuries. The result is expert, fluent, and vivid.

Kirkus (starred review)

Riveting...Goldsworthy is the best sort of writer on ancient times. He eschews psychohistory, explains the wildly unfamiliar culture of that era, and speculates carefully...An outstandingly fresh look at well-trodden ground.

author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Tom Holland

A thrilling read, as successful in meeting its ambitions as Philip's kingship, as sweeping as Alexander's conquests.

Library Journal (starred review)

Thorough and riveting.

AudioFile

Neil Dickson’s clear, straight-ahead narration aptly matches Goldsworthy’s history of the ancient Macedonian father and son…Aided by his strong voice, pleasing British accent, and good pacing…he is exactly the smart, skilled companion one wants for long narrative nonfiction. He makes his narration sound as effortless as conversation as it quietly entertains.”

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2020-07-16
Superb biographies of royalty’s greatest father-son combination.

Countless books have covered the lives of Alexander the Great and his energetic father, Philip of Macedon, but this dual biography, one of the first for a popular audience, not only gives them equal weight, but emphasizes that “both men were able, and Alexander won the war planned and prepared by Philip.” Prolific British historian Goldsworthy reminds readers that Macedonia, north of the classical Greek cities, was long viewed as a nation of uncultured barbarians. When not warring against neighbors, kings fought off rivals and were frequently murdered. No one held great hopes for the 22-year-old Philip, who took over leadership in 359 B.C.E. after his uncle died in battle. Yet, during a 23-year reign, he secured his throne and turned his army into a trained, professional fighting force that made him the de facto leader of all Greece. Few objected to Philip’s plan to invade Persia, still a wealthy superpower, although his murder interrupted the project, which was already underway. Goldsworthy’s Alexander spent two years dealing with rivals and the usual rebellions before marching off in 334, never to return. Despite the plethora of accounts of Alexander’s campaign, readers will still enjoy this riveting one. His army enjoyed dazzling victories accompanied by the accepted mass murder, looting, and rape. They grumbled over their hardships and disliked Alexander’s increasing love of foreign customs and ceremonies. As paranoid as most ancient rulers, he regularly discovered plots and executed friends and subordinates, not all of whom were guilty. Most scholars deplore his neglect of a succession plan, and his empire fell apart following his death. Goldsworthy is the best sort of writer on ancient times. He eschews psychohistory, explains the wildly unfamiliar culture of that era, and speculates carefully. Because so few sources survive and most are untrustworthy, the author, who includes a chronology and maps, also keeps readers informed of the probability that a historical event actually happened.

An outstandingly fresh look at well-trodden ground.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177635286
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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