Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great

Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great

“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, veterans of the conquest of Persia, 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 ancient 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 globally interconnected Hellenistic world 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 from classical antiquity of daring and adventure, an inspiring portrait of grit and ambition, and a powerful meditation on the ability to learn from failure.  This gripping work of ancient history explores the untold story of the conqueror’s transformation, revealing: Leadership Under Pressure: Follow Alexander through deadly monsoons, treacherous conspiracies, and open dissent from his own men as his physical and mental limits are tested on the road to the end of the world. - A Clash of Cultures: Witness the Macedonian king’s struggle to rule the vast Persian Empire, a challenge that forced him to compromise and integrate in ways that would change the course of history. - Resilience in Defeat: Discover how Alexander’s greatest failures—from intractable guerrilla warfare in Central Asia to full-blown army protests—forged his character and shaped his ultimate triumphs. - The Birth of the Hellenistic World: Go beyond the epic battles to understand the complex legacy of a man whose ambition forged a new, globally interconnected world out of the crucible of war. “Get ready for a heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure with Alexander the Great, as you have never seen him before, in Rachel Kousser’s stunning achievement of a book. Sensitively rendered, beautifully narrated, and packed with revelatory insights from a world-class Classics scholar, Alexander at the End of the World mirrors the storied greatness of its hero: bold, adventurous, seemingly unstoppable, and fascinatingly complex. Kousser powerfully turns the camera to reveal not just the legendary conqueror, but those he sought to conquer, brutal warfare but also love—all unfolding against a panoramic view of a vast, ancient world that is awesome in its diversity. Here is a modern epic, set in distant times but astonishingly of-the-moment. Journey to the end of Alexander’s world to better grasp ours.  - Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom “Get ready for a heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure in Rachel Kousser’s stunning achievement of a book. Sensitively rendered, beautifully narrated, and packed with revelatory insights from a world-class Classics scholar, Alexander at the End of the World mirrors the storied greatness of its hero: bold, adventurous, seemingly unstoppable, and fascinatingly complex. ... all unfolding against a panoramic view of a vast, ancient world that is awesome in its diversity. Here is a modern epic, set in distant times but astonishingly of-the-moment. Journey to the end of Alexander’s world to better grasp ours.  - Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom “A thought-provoking portrait of audacious ambition, triumph, and tragedy in the short, glorious life of Alexander the Great, Rachel Kousser’s compelling account of the tumultuous last years of the young, and wildly successful world conqueror is at once exhilarating and melancholy.” - Adrienne Mayor, author of National Book Award Finalist The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy “A wonderful and insightfu