B.'s legacy in the scholarship of Alexander the Great is impossible to quantify, but this current collection serves as a testament to both the longevity and overwhelming brilliance of his work. In the foreword and introduction by Stoneman and Borza respectively, B.'s importance in Alexander scholarship is effectively contextualised and coupled with reflections on the man himself which pay tribute without waxing panegyric. This modesty, while appropriate, fails to disguise the fact that this collection is not so much about Alexander as it is a fitting tribute to the career of B. This theme is supported by the nature of the editorial process outlined by Stoneman in the foreword, which ensured that all changes were made by B. himself without the intervention of an editor. Minor revisions to articles are also included, though none seem to affect the overall conclusions of each article. All the various pieces briefly described below demonstrate the intense source analysis that has come to define B. as a scholar.

As the title suggests, this volume consists of a series of articles concerning Alexander's life which cover most of B.'s career from 1958 to 2007. Some are full-length articles while others would generally be considered notes. These titles are organised chronologically, which clearly demonstrates the longevity of B.'s career and allows the reader to track the development of his thoughts and interests such as the two articles on Agis III which appeared over 25 years apart. Many of these articles would be instantly recognised by those with even a cursory knowledge of Alexander scholarship, such as ‘Alexander the Great and the Unity of Mankind’. This canonical work is a fitting piece with which to begin the collection, as it is still recognised as a turning point in Alexander scholarship which precisely, effectively and successfully challenged the earlier conception of Alexander proposed by Tarn. Published in the same year, ‘The Eunuch Bagoas’ continues to challenge previous scholarship through balanced source criticism and questioning the idea that a source is judged ‘good’ only when it portrays Alexander in a favourable light. ‘The Death of Parmenio’ addresses the issue of Alexander's reaction to and elimination of opposition among the nobility in the course of his reign. The following ‘Review of Lionel Pearson’ laments the stagnant nature of orthodoxy and attempts to redirect the conversation to a careful analysis of what source material remains extant. ‘Harpalus’ serves to contextualise the Harpalus affair within Alexander's court rather than the more traditional Athenian perspective and makes real progress in narrowing the chronology of this episode as far as the sources allow. ‘Alexander the Great and the Loneliness of Power’ is an interesting published lecture which depicts Alexander as a ‘man who conquered the world, only to lose his soul’. ‘The Death of Philip II’ seeks to unravel the intricate politics of the Macedonian court and frame Philip's death in the later picture of Alexander's actions. A more speculative piece, ‘The Date of Clitarchus’, follows and proposes that Clitarchus' testimony could be based on events he witnessed. A short note on ‘Orientals in Alexander's Army’ then leads to a fairly lengthy discussion on ‘Alexander the Great and the Greeks of Asia’ before arriving at the first of the ‘Agis III’ essays. B. should be commended here on a brief introductory note which emphasises that this essay was not revised based on the later reconsideration. This is especially useful to the reader as it allows for transparency in the development of ideas over the course of a career. Another of B.'s best known works, ‘A King's Notebooks’, is included next and, while admitting that the last plans of Alexander are lost to us forever, the story of the hypomnemata can be used to examine the history of the Successors. ‘Nearchus the Cretan’ provides an interesting analysis of the way in which Nearchus characterised both himself and his relationship with Alexander. After a review of Konrad Kraft the reader is led to a systematic and intensive look at both the military and literary problems affecting our understanding of the ‘Battle of the Granicus’. ‘The Deification of Alexander the Great’, which B. admits is a subject which has gained plenty of attention from historians, traces the development through source material of Alexander's (and in the appendix Philip II's) desire to be deified. ‘Greeks and Macedonians’, while addressing the important issues of how Greeks and Macedonians perceived each other, poses Alexander as the symbol of integration between the two cultures. ‘Alexander at Peucelaotis’ is essentially a source critique of Arrian regarding one of Alexander's eastern campaigns. ‘The Ring and the Book’ defends B.'s ideas regarding the preference of sources and once again touches on the hypomnemata. ‘Agis III: Revision and Reflections’ demonstrates that even well-thought ideas need to be defended against new scholarship, even if that scholarship essentially reiterates far older arguments. In keeping with the idea of revisiting earlier works, ‘Alexander the Great between Two Thrones and Heaven’ re-examines Alexander's deification. ‘The King's Indians’ attempts a refreshing investigation of the Indian provinces of the Persian Empire. A note concerning the Alexander Mosaic briefly offers some insight into the possible origins of the dead tree which is fairly central to the mosaic. One of the more lengthy pieces in the work, ‘Conspiracies’, looks at Alexander as a ‘master plotter’ who eventually succumbs to his own fear of conspiracy. ‘Darius III’ sets out, in typical B. fashion, to use source criticism to provide pragmatic explanations for Darius' actions. ‘Plutarch's Unconfessed Skill’ examines Plutarch's historical judgement and concludes that Plutarch at times could be superior to the supposed ‘historical’ sources. The final piece, ‘Once More the Death of Philip II’, brings B. back to a subject he wrote on decades earlier, this time focusing on the individual characters involved in the assassination.

One of the main concerns regarding the usefulness of this book as a source for Alexander scholarship is that many of the articles are widely available through their previous publication history. Subscription-based databases which many have access to through their institutions contain 14 out of the 27 pieces presented here. Despite this, the real value in this work comes from the compilation of pieces in more obscure collections which would not necessarily be available even to a scholar with access to an extensive library. Additionally, as a collection some overlap is necessary in order to highlight the importance of B.'s work, especially because his papers have never been assembled in this way. Given the price of £110, some might legitimately question the necessity of this book in creating a basic understanding of issues concerning Alexander the Great. However, as stated above, this work is not really about Alexander, but instead serves as a testament to a brilliant scholar whose contributions to the field will not fade from memory.