Review; The Rise and Fall of Alexandria

"Most of us take if for granted that two cities, Athens and Rome, completely dominated the classical world," opines Justin Pollard and Howard Reid. "In fact, there was a third city that, at its height, dwarfed both of these in wealth and population as well as in scientific and artistic achievement. " That city was Alexandria, the Greco-Egyptian capital of the Ptolemaic empire. The authors call the city "the greatest mental crucible the world has ever known," the intellectual foundation upon which the later Renaissance forged the minds of modern men. "The Rise and Fall of Alexandria" is a delightful and informative read that effectively waves the banner of an unappreciated aspect of the Western legacy...

...read the full review of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria by Justin Pollard and Howard Reid

A great review! This sounds like a fascinating book, and one that I'd like to read in the near future, when I get some extra money. I've been interested in ancient Alexandria for some time, and the short segement in Carl Sagan's Cosmos inspired some of that. Thank you for directing me towards this book!

Salve, Amici.

"Most of us take if for granted that two cities, Athens and Rome, completely dominated the classical world," opines Justin Pollard and Howard Reid. "In fact, there was a third city that, at its height, dwarfed both of these in wealth and population as well as in scientific and artistic achievement. " That city was Alexandria, the Greco-Egyptian capital of the Ptolemaic empire.

The authors continue: "While Athens and Rome spread their influence through trade and war, Alexandria sought to conquer the mind.

...It was here that humankind first:

- Realized that the Earth was not flat

- Invented geometry

- Built the steam engine

- Invented latitude and longitude, drawing the first accurate maps of the world"

The authors call the city "the greatest mental crucible the world has ever known," the intellectual foundation upon which the later Renaissance forged the minds of modern men.

"... And when the city was destroyed in the seventh century AD, Western civilization regressed a thousand years.

... Here the true foundations of the modern world were laid- not in stone, but in ideas".

Now here we have an unequivocal concept of civilization and maybe also of "competition" and even "atrophy".

Pollard & Reid made in this book a nice assessment of the relative contributions of War and Peace to the flourish and decadence of a crucial classical culture.