Alexander: God, King, Man by Edmund Richardson review – a dazzling, dizzying adventure

The winner of the 2026 Baillie Gifford prize is a riveting work of ancient history that feels startlingly present

• ‘Blockbuster’ history of Alexander the Great wins £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize

In 336BC, Alexander was not great. He was a wiry 20-year-old “no one had thought much about” who found himself king of Macedon after the assassination of his father, Philip. He seemed uniquely unfit for the position. Desperate to prove his worth, Alexander led an army into the Persian empire to confront Darius III, a man who ruled more than 50 million people. Darius was so confident of victory that he brought his family along for the show.

Alexander was outnumbered, and apparently out of his depth. He had suffered a fever that left him “shaking and helpless”, and dissent rattled through his ranks. A vast military force was bearing down on him, with Darius at the helm. “He did not know it yet,” Edmund Richardson writes, “but Alexander was about to become a legend.”