Description
Book SynopsisA portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again
Trade Review“Romm has long been one of the most energetic interpreters of ancient Greek history for a nonspecialist readership. . . . Romm knows how to tell a story; . . . his narrative of the epic siege of Rhodes is the most exciting I have ever read. . . . For anyone new to this tangled but thrilling period of history, Romm’s whirlwind
Demetrius is now the place to start.”—Peter Thonemann,
Wall Street Journal“This colorful biography of Demetrius, the vain and ambitious Macedonian monarch who sought to reunite Alexander the Great’s kingdom in the years after his death, explores his rich inner life and reveals an ancient world of violence and intrigue.”—
New York Times Book Review“Romm offers a sensitive and well-judged account which will appeal to anyone wishing to contemplate what the 18th-century German naturalist Georg Forster called ‘the “incomprehensible force” in human nature that drives history’s conquerors, and their crimes.’”—Antony Spawforth,
Literary Review“With great erudition, and elegance, Romm tells the story of the years after the death of Alexander the Great, revealing an ancient world whose politics, intrigue, and penchant for war will seem familiar to modern readers.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University
“Romm brilliantly sketches the life, character, and achievements of Demetrius the Besieger, the most charismatic and unstable of the Successors of Alexander the Great—and one of the most formidable.”—Robin Waterfield, author of
Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece“Romm’s gripping, sensitive biography traces the zigzagging career of Demetrius, cavalry commander at nineteen and notorious besieger of cities, as he strives to seize power as Alexander’s successor but ultimately languishes in luxury as a royal captive.”—Adrienne Mayor, author of
The Poison King and
The Amazons
