{"title":"Richard Stoneman","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Stoneman\u003c\/strong\u003e specialises in illuminating the lives and legacies of historical figures, bringing ancient worlds vividly to life. His works explore the complex narratives of empires and rulers such as Alexander the Great and Xerxes, blending rigorous scholarship with engaging storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect richly detailed biographies and historical studies that deepen understanding of the classical era and its enduring impact. Stoneman’s books offer insightful perspectives on history and military strategy, making them essential for those fascinated by the crossroads of power, culture, and identity.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-greek-experience-of-india-by-richard-stoneman-9780691217475","title":"The Greek Experience of India","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exploration of how the Greeks reacted to and interacted with India from the third to first centuries BCE.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the Greeks and Macedonians in Alexander's army reached India in 326 BCE, they entered a new world. The plants were unrecognisable, and the customs of the people were various and puzzling. Alexander's conquest ended with his death in 323 BCE, but the Greeks would settle in the Indian region for the next two centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom observations about botany and mythology to social customs, \u003cem\u003eThe Greek Experience of India\u003c\/em\u003e explores how the Greeks reacted to and constructed life in India during this period. Richard Stoneman offers a valuable look at Megasthenes, ambassador of the King Seleucus to Chandragupta Maurya, and provides a discussion of Megasthenes' now-fragmentary book \u003cem\u003eIndica\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStoneman considers the art, literature, and philosophy of the Indo-Greek kingdom and how cultural influences crossed in both directions. \u003cem\u003eThe Greek Experience of India\u003c\/em\u003e is a masterful account of the encounters between two remarkable civilisations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850084241644,"sku":"9780691217475","price":103.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2161893482434.jpg?v=1759078994"},{"product_id":"alexander-the-great-by-richard-stoneman-9780300270068","title":"Alexander the Great","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn his brief life, Alexander the Great gained fame as the military genius who conquered the known world. After death, his legend only increased.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlexander the Great\u003c\/em\u003e (356–323 B.C.) precipitated immense historical change in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. But the resonance his legend achieved over the next two millennia stretched even farther—across foreign cultures, religious traditions, and distant nations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis engaging and handsomely illustrated book for the first time gathers together hundreds of the colourful Alexander legends that have been told and retold around the globe. Richard Stoneman, a foremost expert on the Alexander myths, introduces us first to the historical Alexander and then to the Alexander of legend, an unparalleled mythic icon who came to represent the heroic ideal in cultures from Egypt to Iceland, from Britain to Malaya.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlexander came to embody the concerns of Hellenistic man; he fuelled Roman ideas on tyranny and kingship; he was a talisman for fourth-century pagans and a hero of chivalry in the early Middle Ages. He appears in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic writings, frequently as a prophet of God. Whether battling winged foxes or meeting with the Amazons, descending to the underworld or inventing the world’s first diving bell, Alexander inspired as a hero, even a god.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStoneman traces Alexander’s influence in ancient literature and folklore and in later literatures of east and west. His book provides the definitive account of the legends of Alexander the Great—a powerful leader in life and an even more powerful figure in the history of literature and ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000524423404,"sku":"9780300270068","price":28.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24698423482294.jpg?v=1763281350"},{"product_id":"xerxes-by-richard-stoneman-9780300180077","title":"Xerxes","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eXerxes\u003c\/em\u003e: The first full-scale account of a Persian king vilified by history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eXerxes, Great King of the Persian Empire from 486–465 B.C., has gone down in history as an angry tyrant full of insane ambition. The stand of Leonidas and the 300 against his army at Thermopylae is a byword for courage, while the failure of Xerxes’ expedition has overshadowed all the other achievements of his twenty-two-year reign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this lively and comprehensive new biography, Richard Stoneman shows how Xerxes, despite sympathetic treatment by the contemporary Greek writers Aeschylus and Herodotus, had his reputation destroyed by later Greek writers and by the propaganda of Alexander the Great. Stoneman draws on the latest research in Achaemenid studies and archaeology to present the ruler from the Persian perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis illuminating volume does not whitewash Xerxes’ failings but sets against them such triumphs as the architectural splendour of Persepolis and a consideration of Xerxes’ religious commitments. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of a man who ruled a vast and multicultural empire which the Greek communities of the West saw as the antithesis of their own values.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47933409689836,"sku":"9780300180077","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780300180077-xerxes.jpg?v=1783869923"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/richard-stoneman.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}