Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman is a clear and engaging biography of one of history’s greatest conquerors.

It tells how Alexander, the Macedonian king tutored by Aristotle, became a brilliant general who built the largest empire of the ancient world before dying at just 32. His campaigns spread Greek culture across Asia, from Egypt to India.

Freeman shows both sides of Alexander — brave and brilliant, but also impulsive and ruthless — and explains how his short, intense life changed history forever.