We just finished reading what is probably my favorite living history book so far...Alexander the Great by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was originally written in Greek and then translated into English. I believe the reason I enjoyed it so much was because it stuck so closely to the historical character and gave a good storyline to make him and his exploits real. It wasn't a dry reading of facts, but a living reading of the life of an amazing figure. Reading this book gives you a wide breadth of knowledge of Alexander and clearly shows why he is called Alexander the Great.
As with all historical novels, I have some level of concern about the veracity of the information. So, I looked him up on Wikipedia, and it appeared to be quite credibly written acknowledging most of the major occurrences in Alexander's life. There is no mention/allusion to his questionable sexual preferences which I appreciated (Wikipedia seemed to say that there is no concrete evidence of them historically anyways). One picture in the book is slightly questionable as it is a pencil drawing of the backside of Alexander as he tames Bucephalas in the nude.
If you are doing this time period in history, I highly recommend you order this book or borrow it from me. I definitely have a substantially greater grasp of who Alexander was and the times he lived in. This book is not limited to children, but would be an excellent read for adults as well.
everyone cozied up
and we had a couple of fireworks to set off once we got back
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