The Young Alexander
The Making of Alexander the Great
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The Young Alexander
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Narrated by:
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Gavin Osborn
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By:
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Alex Rowson
About this listen
‘Popular history at its very best, thought-provoking and accessible. Underpinned by serious research, and written with panache, it summons up a vanished world’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
This is an astonishing new account of Alexander the Great – one of the most important figures of the ancient world, whose earlier years have until now been a mystery.
Alexander the Great’s story often reads like fiction: son to a snake-loving mother and a battle-scarred father; tutored by Aristotle; a youth from the periphery of the Greek world who took part in his first campaign aged sixteen, becoming king of Macedon at twenty and king of Asia by twenty-five; leading his armies into battle like a Homeric figure.
Each generation has peered through the frosted glass of history and come to their own conclusion about Alexander, be it enlightened ruler, military genius, megalomaniac, drunkard or despot. Yet the first two decades of his life have until now been a mystery – a matter of legend and myth. This extraordinary history draws on new discoveries in archaeology to tell the early story of Alexander and his rise – including detail on the tempestuous relationship between Alexander’s parents, Philip and the Molossian princess Olympias, his education by Aristotle and the strict military training which would serve him so well in later years. And more than ever, it emerges, the story of Alexander’s reign confronts us with difficult questions that are still relevant today – of the relationship between East and West, the legacy of colonialism and the impacts of authoritarian rule.
Drawing together startling modern archaeological discoveries, this book brings Alexander’s ancient world back into focus. With each fragment of this shattered past, excavated by shovel, pick and trowel, a new history is being written. The forgotten story of young Alexander is being unearthed.
©2022 Alex Rowson (P)2022 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
‘The Young Alexander is popular history at its very best, thought-provoking and accessible. Underpinned by serious research, and written with panache, it summons up a vanished world.’
Sunday Telegraph, FIVE STARS
‘As a colourful and learned evocation of the great conqueror’s shaping boyhood it’s a wonderful read’
Daily Mail
‘Lively … Alex Rowson has produced an absorbing re-creation of the early years’
The Times
‘Securely anchored to archaeological sites – so evocatively described I was tempted to pack my bag and grab my passport on more than one occasion – and suffused with well-researched historical detail. There is no reason why history cannot double as entertainment, in fact there’s an argument to be had that it should. Rowson achieves this in spades’
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Persians
- The Age of the Great Kings
- By: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Narrated by: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 146
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower—one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good History and Historiography
- By David A on 04-19-22
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The Sacred Band
- Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom
- By: James Romm
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
From classicist James Romm comes a thrilling deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes - and the saga of the greatest military corps of the age, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Stop now and don’t buy this book.
- By Robert Pitman on 06-08-21
By: James Romm
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In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story5 out of 5 stars 59
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant!
- By Dee Goulet on 08-31-22
By: Michael Wood
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Philip and Alexander
- Kings and Conquerors
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Neil Dickson
- Length: 20 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 457
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 394
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Story5 out of 5 stars 393
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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Horrible narrator
- By Anonymous User on 01-05-21
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Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities
- By: Bettany Hughes
- Narrated by: Bettany Hughes
- Length: 24 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 156
From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, North and South, it has been the capital city of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was the very center of the world, known simply as "The City", but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city but a global story.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A daunting undertaking pulled off superlatively
- By SGS on 12-24-17
By: Bettany Hughes
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Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4 out of 5 stars 106
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
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Gladius: The World of the Roman Soldier
- By: Guy de la Bédoyère
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
In Gladius, Guy de la Bedoyere takes us straight to the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army. Rather than a history of the army itself, or a guide to military organization and fighting methods, this book is a ground-level recreation of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that made the empire. Surveying numerous aspects of life in the Roman army between 264 BCE and 337 CE, Gladius draws not only on the words of famed Roman historians, but also those of the soldiers themselves.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Nothing new here
- By Charles on 08-06-22
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The Story of Egypt
- The Civilization That Shaped the World
- By: Joann Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
The story of the world's greatest civilization - spanning thousands of years - is full of epic stories, spectacular places, and an evolving society rich in inventors, heroes, villains, and pioneers. The story of the world's greatest civilization spans 4,000 years of history that has shaped the world. It is full of spectacular cities and epic stories of a constantly evolving society peopled with inventors, heroes and heroines, villains, artisans, and pioneers.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Egyptian history is fascinating, this book is not.
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 08-24-16
By: Joann Fletcher
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Ghost on the Throne
- The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire
- By: James S. Romm
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 204
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 174
When Alexander the Great died at the age of 32, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea in the west all the way to modern-day India in the east. In an unusual compromise, his two heirs - a mentally damaged half brother, Philip III, and an infant son, Alexander IV, born after his death - were jointly granted the kingship. But six of Alexander's Macedonian generals, spurred by their own thirst for power and the legend that Alexander bequeathed his rule "to the strongest," fought to gain supremacy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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ends a bit short
- By RIR on 06-14-21
By: James S. Romm
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Nero
- Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt, Roddy Ashworth
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
The Roman emperor Nero’s name has long been a byword for cruelty, decadence, and despotism. As the stories go, he set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned. He then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace. He committed incest with his mother, who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne, and later murdered her. But these stories, left behind by contemporary historians who hated him, are hardly the full picture, and in this nuanced biography, celebrated historian Anthony Everitt and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero
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5 out of 5 stars
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An amazing 360 degree portrait
- By Cooper A Day on 01-01-23
By: Anthony Everitt, and others
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Thermopylae
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
In 480 B.C., a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae to march on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty. But the Greeks, led by King Leonidas and a small army of Spartans, took the battle to the Persians at Thermopylae and halted their advance: almost. It is one of history's most acclaimed battles, one of civilization's greatest last stands.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Requires full attention
- By Euryleia on 01-18-08
By: Paul Cartledge
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Alexander the Great
- The Hunt for a New Past
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 455
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 395
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Story4 out of 5 stars 395
Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers.
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3 out of 5 stars
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NOT a Chronology of Alexander’s Life
- By Blane Richoux on 12-30-20
By: Paul Cartledge
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Alexander the Great
- Journey to the End of the Earth
- By: Norman F. Cantor
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 439
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 382
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Story4 out of 5 stars 380
In this succinct portrait of Alexander the Great, distinguished scholar and historian Norman Cantor draws on the major writings of Alexander's contemporaries, as well as the most recent psychological and cultural studies to illuminate this most legendary of men - a great figure in the ancient world whose puzzling personality greatly fueled his military accomplishments.
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5 out of 5 stars
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FIVE STAR BOOK!!!!
- By Fun Lovin Lady on 09-25-12
By: Norman F. Cantor
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The Parthenon Enigma
- By: Joan Breton Connelly
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4 out of 5 stars 36
In this revolutionary book, Joan Breton Connelly challenges our most basic assumptions about the Parthenon and the ancient Athenians. Beginning with the natural environment and its rich mythic associations, she re-creates the development of the Acropolis - the Sacred Rock at the heart of the city-state - from its prehistoric origins to its Periklean glory days as a constellation of temples among which the Parthenon stood supreme.
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4 out of 5 stars
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dope book, lacked depth but overall worthwhile
- By Nicholas on 06-29-15
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Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 730
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 624
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 620
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Solid overview 3000 years of history
- By Alsor2000 on 07-19-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,749
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,851
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,799
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others