Alexander at the End of the World

The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great

By: Rachel Kousser

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

“A heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure.”—Ilyon Woo

A riveting biography of Alexander the Great’s final years, when the leader’s insatiable desire to conquer the world set him off on an exhilarating, harrowing journey that would define his legacy.

By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great had reached the pinnacle of success. Or so it seemed. He had defeated the Persian ruler Darius III and seized the capital city of Persepolis. His exhausted and traumatized soldiers were ready to return home to Macedonia. Yet Alexander had other plans. He was determined to continue heading east to Afghanistan in search of his ultimate goal: to reach the end of the world.

Alexander’s unrelenting desire to press on resulted in a perilous seven-year journey through the unknown eastern borderlands of the Persian empire that would test the great conqueror’s physical and mental limits. He faced challenges from the natural world, moving through deadly monsoons and extreme temperatures; from a rotating cast of well-matched adversaries, who conspired against him at every turn; and even from his own men, who questioned his motives and distrusted the very beliefs on which Alexander built his empire. This incredible sweep of time, culminating with his death in 323 BC at the age of 32, would come to determine Alexander’s legacy and shape the empire he left behind.

In Alexander at the End of the World, renowned classicist and art history professor Rachel Kousser vividly brings to life Alexander’s labyrinthine, treacherous final years, weaving together a brilliant series of epic battles, stunning landscapes, and nearly insurmountable obstacles. Meticulously researched and grippingly written, Kousser’s narrative is an unforgettable tale of daring and adventure, an inspiring portrait of grit and ambition, and a powerful meditation on the ability to learn from failure.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Rachel Kousser (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Enjoyed the focus on the less popular parts of Alexander’s life

This is my third Alexander books I have listened to and I enjoyed the focus on the latter half of Alexander’s life. In a lot of ways he was practical and progressive for his time but at the same time an autocrat and childish. Such an interesting person and a good book.

Interesting new view of Alexander

This covers a less well known part of his conquests and is enlightening regarding his character and its connection to his incredible ability to sum up battle situations and encounters with other cultures

Lots of detailed information

I like history so this was a good book. The narrator was really great with the pronunciation of names

The best perspective on a neglected second half of the story

The meticulous research and attention to the variety of humans (individuals and cultural groups) as causes and key factors in decisions makes for some exciting new twists on the events and themes in the oft-neglected 2nd half of Alexander’s story. This was an exciting one! The reader did a solid job, but it would have been even more compelling to have a woman as the reader - a better representation of the power of Kousset as a rare female biographer of Alexander. My favorite element is the consistent and insightful analysis of Barsine and her role in Alexander’s power structure. Awesome!

non fiction at it's best

the amount of detail this book gets into is incredible and very well researched and clearly took a lot of time and effort to create.