The Great Alexander the Great

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Summary: An introductory juvenile biography of Alexander the Great
Review: Apparently there are several films on the life of Alexander the Great coming out in the next couple of years, and not just the Oliver Stone film with Colin Farrell and the proposed Baz Luhrmann film with Leonardo Di Caprio that have been getting most of the publicity. Consequently, the story of the young king of Macedonia who conquered the world is going to be of renewed interest to young readers. "The Great Alexander the Great," with story and pictures by Joe Lasker, begins by telling how the young Alexander tamed the great horse Bucephalus and how together they became famous.

Lakser provides a more episodic approach to Alexander's life and military campaigns, focusing on the siege of Tyre and the battle of Jhelum. Alexander's selling thousands into slavery or killing everyone in a defeated city or tribe is touched upon, but Lasker emphasizes the idea that Alexander unified the world and showed that people of different races and nations could live and work side by side (based on the idea that Alexander transformed his Greek army into an international one by replacing his original soldiers with Persians and other Asians he conquered their lands).

Interwoven into the story is the great horse Bucephalus, Alexander's good luck charm in battle. After Bucephalus fell during the battle of Jhelum, the monsoons of India did what no military force could do, making Alexander and his great army retreat. However, clearly Lasker sees the great horse as the talisman of Alexander's success. The illustrations, one of which is based on the famous mosaic of Alexander fighting Darius, often contain one of the Greek gods worked into the situation. A map in the front of book shows the extent of Alexander's empire.

"The Great Alexander the Great" is an introductory illustrated biography for young readers interested in the young king who did not stop until there were no more worlds left to conquer. Those already familiar with Alexander's biography will be aware that various stories are not included, such as the young Alexander being tutored by Aristotle or his legendary solution to the problem of the Gordian knot, but those will certainly be brought up in biographies at the next level.