The great alexander biography of michael wood
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Wood and crew take you from Greece to the Holy Land, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and more as he uncovers shreds of evidence from artifacts to ancient stories still told by storytellers and pieces them together into a mosaic of the short 32 year life of the legendary conqueror of Persia (circa 356-323 BCE). EG, They have style but half of what Neil Oliver and Alice Roberts claim are in fact fringe theories or theories already debunked in just a few years.
Using the ancient historians as his guides, Wood follows Alexanders journey as closely as possible, crossing deserts and rivers, from Turkey to war-torn Afghanistan.
Michael Wood retraces Alexander the Greats amazing journey from Greece to India, searching for the truth behind the legend and experiencing the tremendous scale of his achievements.
The always affable and upbeat historian/host Wood travels by everything from burro to boat to helicopter to foot over some of the most barren and rugged terrain in Asia tirelessly brining us the history and legends of Alexander. The locals tell them to take water with them because there still isn't any to be found there.
Woods does a much better job than some of today's PBS history/archaeology presenters who seem to need to center on revisionism for the sake of revisionism, and latch onto some fairly fringe theories. And that open system and polis organization was a life giving breath to civilization as it replace the backward looking oppressive Persian system that had stymied growth and thought.
He is the author of several highly praised books on English history including In Search of the Dark Ages, The Domesday Quest, In Search of England and In Search of Shakespeare.
The complete work of this English "historian" is distortion, starting with the very title for Alexander's journey did not start in Greece, but in Macedonia. Every ancient historian is clear of that.
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Along the way, we hear narratives recited from the writings of Alexander's personal historians, plus assorted commentaries on the battles and strategies.Michael Wood's work of the 1990's is truly enthusiastic and captures the viewers attention. Same with Bettina Hughes
One thing I will critique when it comes to Woods' Alexander: Not enough attention is paid to his effect on the non-Greek Near East and the profound Hellenizing and organizing as Greek type polis structures.
well, their offspring are anyway, along with oodles of Greek culture.
Watch for an eerie part when the team proposes following Alexander's poorly-chosen coastal 'return' route. He opened Egypt and integrated it into the wider world, and Hellenized heretofore hermetic and limited Judiasm giving its core thinkers a language and context in which to engage the world, allowing Judiasm to receive and give wisdom.
If you cut off the sound it is even better. the Narrator attempts to re-trace Alexander's conquests by following the 20,000+ mile route of his army through Asia Minor, Africa and into the heart of Asia itself. Some things haven't changed much in 2300 years.
Michael Wood - In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia
British Writer
Michael Wood is yet another western writer who erroneously labels Alexander and his Macedonians as "Greek" in his book.
Some of his other output has been variable, but this took real guts to make and is a definite must-see.
1acceron
Good travelogue
The only thing I am keeping from this, is that it is a decent travelogue. His book is also filled with other historical distortions as well. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great
Episodes4
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10enochsneed
Superb television - informative and gripping
I didn't see this on first transmission, I just watched the series on DVD.
First of all, it tells the story of Alexander the Great very well (I sort of knew of him as a figure in history, now I feel I know the man much more) and, second of all, I don't think it could be made today. "In the Footsteps of..." is not only a well composed documentary but also a travelogue of places you'll not likely want to visit and will probably never see.
However, as a documentary of Alexander's quest, it is way bellow par. All along the way he finds proof of the survival of the legends surrounding Alexander, a leader whose life has excited the worlds imagination for the 2,000 years.