July 2026 Book Club Pick: Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox.
Elliot Ackerman selected Robin Lane Fox’s acclaimed biography while researching an upcoming project. He recommends it as an entertaining, deeply researched account of Alexander’s life, military campaigns, companions, rivals, and enduring influence on the ancient world.
Elliot’s Recommendation
"This month I’ve enjoyed reading Robin Lane Fox’s Alexander the Great. I picked up this book as research for a project I’m working on—more on that soon—and found it enormously entertaining. Despite being a substantial work of history, it reads like a novel. Unlike books of a similar length, which often bog down in minutia, Fox does a great job weaving detail into Alexander’s remarkable life story. Fox’s history was the basis of Oliver Stone’s film, Alexander, which is a favorite of mine, and it’s obvious why Stone used it as a guide. The character studies of Alexander’s peers, figures like Hephaestion, Parmenion, and his archrival the Persian King Darius are unforgettable and handled with depth. If you’re into ancient history, check this one out and let me know what you think."
About the Book
Alexander the Great combines historical scholarship with psychological insight to examine Alexander III of Macedon as a military commander, political ruler, and figure of enduring legend.