Alexander the Great

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 311K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Alexander the Great by Jacob AbbottAuthor: Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879,Language: English, Class: DF: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Greece, Release Date: Dec 7, 2009

Editor's review

Jacob Abbott was a prolific nineteenth-century writer of popular history, and this Alexander the Great follows his approach of telling historical figures' stories for general readers: taking the figure's actions as the main thread, it links expeditions, battles, and court intrigues into a highly readable narrative rather than piling up scholarly detail. Its value lies in offering an early sample of popular biography and showing how the nineteenth-century English-speaking world presented ancient Greece and the East to a mass readership. The book's portrayal of Alexander's character, ambition, and military actions carries a clear period flavor; today it can provide a basic outline of the figure while also inviting attention to its narrative stance and choices. It is suitable as an introductory biographical work or as a reference for observing changes in popular historical writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want an initial outline of Alexander the Great's life
People interested in the style of nineteenth-century popular historical writing
Learners who need English popular biography material for reading practice
Readers with an introductory interest in the history of contacts between ancient Greece and the East

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers seeking the latest scholarship and detailed source analysis
Readers expecting extensive maps, chronologies, and scholarly annotations
Military-history enthusiasts who require highly precise ancient military details

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to grasp the expedition route and chronological order, then proceed chapter by chapter to avoid confusion over relationships.
Keep a modern map at hand while reading, marking major battles and regions passed through to help build a sense of space.
Note the author's tone when commenting on character, and read alongside other modern biographies to compare narrative differences.
The English original can be read chapter by chapter; after each chapter, summarize the main points in a few sentences to consolidate understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a rigorous academic biography?

No. It belongs to nineteenth-century popular historical writing, focusing on telling the figure's story and the sequence of events, with relatively limited scholarly detail and annotation. For academic research, it should be supplemented with modern scholarship and primary sources; as an introductory work or for understanding early popular historiography, it is fairly suitable.

How much historical background is needed before reading?

No specialized background is required. The author wrote for general readers, and the narrative is fairly连贯. A slight familiarity with ancient Greek city-states, Macedon, and Persia will make reading smoother; if completely unfamiliar, you can start with the opening chapters and fill in basic concepts as you read.

How difficult is the English original?

Overall it is nineteenth-century popular English; sentences tend to be long, but the vocabulary is not especially difficult, so readers with intermediate English reading ability can attempt it. Reading chapter by chapter is recommended; mark personal and place names simply at first rather than checking every word, so as not to interrupt the narrative flow.

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About the author

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879 Author

Jacob Abbott (1803–1879) was an American author and educator best known for his historical and biographical works. The library holds 51 of his works, including Darius the Great, History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, History of Julius Caesar, Richard II, Cyrus the Great, Pyrrhus, Cleopatra, and Peter the Great. Writing for young readers, he wove individual lives into the broader context of their times, narrating the rise and fall of rulers and figures in clear, accessible prose that made history both readable and instructive. His historical biographies circulated widely and helped popularize history reading. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this profile focuses on the subjects and style of his works.