Ghost on the throne: the death of Alexander the Great and the war for crown and empire

Abstract

[Romm] (classics, Bard College) tells the gripping tale of the breakup of Alexander the Great's far-flung but ephemeral empire. The author sets the scene vividly, reaching backward and forward in time to reveal the stories and the motivations of those who would shape the post-Alexander world. Generals, bodyguards, and friends of the dead king would now vie for power, influence, and territory.

49-4622 DF235 2011-8657 CIP Romm, James. Ghost on the throne: the death of Alexander the Great and the war for crown and empire. Knopf, 2011. 341p bibl index ISBN 9780307271648, $28.95

Romm (classics, Bard College) tells the gripping tale of the breakup of Alexander the Great's far-flung but ephemeral empire. The author sets the scene vividly, reaching backward and forward in time to reveal the stories and the motivations of those who would shape the post-Alexander world. Generals, bodyguards, and friends of the dead king would now vie for power, influence, and territory. Some tried to preserve what Alexander had wrought, holding together the pieces of his vast multinational domain; others sought to carve offwhatever portion they could take and hold for themselves. Romm is a gifted storyteller as well as a respected scholar, and he knows that compelling history is driven by consideration of character. He resurrects Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Eumenes, and Antigonus One-Eye from the past to encounter them again as individuals. This compelling account of the conflicts that resulted from Alexander's bequeathal of his empire "to the strongest" should be included in any library collection treating Alexander or the foundations of the Hellenistic Age. Summing Up: Highly recommended. HHH General readers, lower-division undergraduates, and above.-J. D. Lyons, Ashland University