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Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all. Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: a pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021)
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Alexander The Great - Part 1
Alexander the Great’s story begins in 356 BC, born in Pella to King Philip II and the fiercely ambitious Olympias. From his earliest days, Alexander was surrounded by greatness—his mother claimed divine lineage from Achilles, and his father, a master strategist, shaped Macedonia into a military powerhouse. Tutored by Aristotle, young Alexander absorbed the wisdom of philosophy and science while honing his skills as a warrior. His boundless ambition and fearlessness were evident even as a boy, famously taming the untamable horse Bucephalus, a feat that foreshadowed his destiny to conquer the unconquerable.
When his father was assassinated, 20-year-old Alexander ascended to the throne, inheriting not only the kingdom of Macedonia but also his father’s dream of uniting Greece and toppling Persia. In just a few short years, he proved his brilliance on the battlefield, defeating Darius III and claiming the Persian Empire’s crown jewels—Babylon, Persepolis, and Susa. But Alexander wasn’t content with conquest alone; he envisioned a world where East and West were united. Founding cities and embracing the customs of those he conquered, he sought to forge a legacy greater than any before him.