What finer way for Alexander the Great to honor his old tutor Aristotle than to send him an actual Indian elephant.
After capturing a magnificent specimen from an Indian ruler, Alexander tasks Leon of Atrax, a cavalry commander, to deliver the animal to Aristotle in Athens.
Leon leads a motley crew of companions (and the elephant) from India to Greece, and in the process encounter all sorts of … encounter all sorts of dangers and adventures while completing the long and arduous journey.
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I really enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of historical novels, I believe you will enjoy it also. Full of information on the geography, and peoples of the times.
Loved being taken back to the great ages of Alexander. Very well written in supposedly “old text.” Altho- I didn’t know my history very well, but I would not have thought the main character, Leon, would have spoken like a Scotsman.
Not only is this book informative, it is highly entertaining.
I enjoyed reading this book and immersing myself in Alexander’s world. I checked “realistic”, but I don’t know. It felt realistic and the characters were well-defined and intriguing. The only character not well-defined was the elephant, the title character. It seemed the least of the problems was the elephant. Surely it was harder to keep an elephant healthy over the long trek than portrayed. Still a fun read.
Informative and often humorous.
Loved the wise words, colorful characters from India to Athens. Elephants and crazed Egyptian cats. This book has it all.
Scholarly and well-researched but eminently readable. Takes one of the now unknown what-ifs of history and turns it into a magnificent story.
Good ancient historian book