Philip II of Macedonia: Greater Than Alexander

Gabriel has produced an excellent popular history of a subject that I think is all too often ignored in ancient history: the career of Philip II of Macedonia. Even since the time of his contemporaries, Philip's thunder had been stolen to a large extent by the vainglorious exploits of his son, Alexander. Yet in doing so, what gets ignored is the gross contrast between father and son. Philip created the Macedonian kingdom out of next to nothing; established and perfected the best army the ancient world had yet seen; and used that kingdom and its army to effectively unify the Greek world.Without those accomplishments, literally everything Alexander did would have been impossible. Furthermore, as Alexander's own career shows, he lacked the talents necessary to build states or innovate solutions to anything but battlefield problems. Alexander was probably a somewhat better general than his father, but Philip was in all other respects a vastly superior monarch. If Philip hadn't done the hard work, Alexander would have amounted to nothing.That is Gabriel's argument. He makes it persuasively and proves it in a well-written popular history. If you like swords and sandals non-fiction, buy this book. You'll love it.

I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. As the subtitle states “Greater Than Alexander” the book has a definite point of view, namely that Philip was greater that Alexander in that Alexander could never have done what he did without the army the Philip created. Not only did Philip create a new type of infantry unit, the Macedonian Phalanx, he also created a new type of cavalry and devised the tactics by which the two worked in harmony, creating a winning battle force. Philip is also credited with engineering innovations that allowed him to destroy city walls instead of having to engage in very long lasting sieges. He altered the supply system and the way in which his army operated in the field. I found the book well written and engaging, with an emphasis on military history and battle history. I recommend it to anyone interested in history, military history and the history of ancient Greece.

;To know the son one should read about the father.This is a bio. that gives the reader insight into a man that devoted his life to his ambition to unite all Greek city states into one power to challenge the power of Persia. Mr. Gabriel reveals a man that was intellegent ,tactical,and oppoerttuistic in his philosophy in achieving his goal. He was a man who did not allow failure in one to affect the overall success in all.Alexander saw himself as a god ,Phillip was a man who achieved more in his time,if one reads and sees that here was a person that overcame more than god.One can but reason that had Phillip had not been removed , prehaps history would refer to Phillip as the GREAT and Alexander would be a god.

The author has written a detailed book on the generalship of Phillip II of Macedonia whose genius is forgotten because of the accomplishments of his son Alexander.Phillip inherited a kingdom that although had a lot of potential was surrounded by dangerous neighbours and was on the verge of collapse.Using his diplomatic skills he managed to but time to rebuild his army and in the process revolutionize warfare by creating the legendary combined arms force known as the Macedonian Phalanx.Using this army,his diplomatic skills,his intelligence services and soft power ,Phillip was able to first consolidate Macedonia,expand a security buffer around his kingdom and then expand his control over the greek city states.In doing so he successfully united the warring city states for the first time in their history.What is incredible about phillip's feats is that he never annhilated his enemies like some other generals but rather used his army to disarm them.He was also responsible for the plan to invade the persian empire and as the author convincingly demonstrates many of the strategies ,means and tactics that alexander used would not have been possible without Phillip.However,I disagree with the author that Phillip was the better of the two.Alexander was surely a great innovator as demonstrated by the siege of tyre ,the mountain warfare campaigns he fought in india , the fact that he was able to improvise against an army of elephants in india and the political strategy that he used to bring about the subjugation of the vast persian empire.It would be more accurate to say that Phillip was the equal of Alexander and that Alexander just picked up where his father left off.

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Truly Philip is better than Alexander. Philip did the hard work and set everything up to go after and conquer Persia. Alexander just inherited everything his father had built up. Great reading and it tells the amazing tale of how Philip took a backwater tribe and created a new army and took over all of Greece making it the first country in Europe.

Anyone interested in learning about the man who paved the way for Alexander, read this. The man did his homework and gives an accurate and yes despite the title and unbiased look at an unsung giant of history. I came away understanding just how important Phillip was for Alexander and without him Alexander likely would have done very little. Great book.

I have never seen an book about Phillip the second,but It have surprised me in good ways. Good job here

I really enjoyed this book.I knew very little about Philip and this book gave a clear history of this great leader.The book was written in a very easy style and offered up clear evidence in my view that Alexander was given the best army in the world at that time to use as he wished.It would have been interesting to have seen what Philip would have achieved had he lived and been able to campaign in Persia. I am pretty certain he would have left a lasting legacy and not have pursued the personal glory that Alexander was fixated upon.The book left me with an impression that Philip was a ruthless, brave and very likable man who knew when to make friends and also knew when to exert maximum force. Definitely recommended.