Historian Edward Bowie explains why the military accomplishments of Alexander the Great remain a benchmark against which other military leaders are judged on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Bowie, a professor in the Military History Department at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, will discuss how the limited historical record and the resulting controversies hinder any definitive analysis of his career. Bowie will also consider how Alexander’s operations in the region that is now present day Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan provide lessons for us today.

Bowie holds a master’s degree in military history. As an active duty officer, Bowie had tours of duty in Bosnia, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Haiti, and Hungary.

The event is the second in the Great Commanders series to be held on the second Thursday of each month through June, 2011. Future programs in the series will include discussions of: Genghis Kahn, February 10, Horatio Nelson (March 10), Napoleon (April 14), Curtis LeMay (May 12), and Erwin Rommel (June 9).