Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom  that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle,  Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he  faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after  taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian  Empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt  and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains  of India.

In his lively and authoritative biography of  Alexander, Philip Freeman describes Alexander's astonishing achievements  and provides insight into the mercurial character of the great  conqueror. Alexander could be petty and magnanimous, cruel and merciful,  impulsive and farsighted. Above all, he was ferociously, intensely  competitive and could not tolerate losing - which he rarely did.

As  Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on the  ancient world would surely not have been as great as it was, even if his  motivation was not to spread Greek culture for beneficial purposes, but  instead to unify his empire.