Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés : ambiguous legacies of leadership / Justin D. Lyons.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This is a biographical pairing of two of the greatest conquerors in human history, drawing its inspiration from Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Like Plutarch, the purpose of the pairing is not primarily historical. While Plutarch covers the history of each of the lives he chronicles, he also emphasizes questions of character and the larger lessons of politics to be derived from the deeds he recounts. The book provides a narrative account both of Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire and Cortés's conquest of the Aztec Empire while reflecting on the larger questions that emerge from each. The campaign narratives are followed by essays devoted to leadership and command that seek to recover the treasures of the Plutarchian approach shaped by moral and political philosophy. Analysis of leadership style and abilities is joined with assessment of character. Special emphasis is given to the speeches provided in historical sources and meditation on rhetorical successes and failures in maintaining the morale and willing service of their men.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

It is difficult to know what Lyons (Ashland Univ.) was trying to accomplish with this book. No new history is presented here. Nor is there a novel interpretation of the sources--they are read and cited only in translation. The basic facts are still the same: Alexander the Great conquers Asia Minor, the Middle East, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan, and parts of India; Hernán Cortés conquers Mexico. The stories of those conquests remain those repeated for centuries. There is some novelty in linking a Macedonian general of the fourth century BCE with a Spanish general of the 16th century CE, but other than that both were successful leaders who sometimes faced larger forces, there is little to connect the two. (Largely ignored is that these "larger" forces were inexperienced soldiers raised from disunited peoples, while both Alexander's and Cortés's armies included large numbers of more experienced soldiers "traitorous" to those they fought.) "Ambiguous legacies of leadership"--never adequately defined--is an unconvincing connection. This book might prove useful for readers unacquainted with Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés, but it should not supplant readily available, more scholarly studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Public libraries only. --Kelly Robert DeVries, Loyola University Maryland