Paperback(Reprint)
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Hannibal Barca of Carthage, born 247 BC, was one of the great generals of the ancient world. His father, Hamilcar, imposed Carthaginian rule over much of present-day Spain. After Hamilcar led the Carthaginian forces against Rome in the First Punic War, Hannibal followed in his father’s footsteps.
From the time he was a teenager, Hannibal fought against Rome. He is famed for leading Carthage’s army across North Africa, into Spain, along the Mediterranean coast, and then crossing the Alps with his army and war elephants. Hannibal won victories in northern Italy by outmaneuvering his Roman adversaries and defeated a larger Roman army at the battle of Cannae in 216 BC. Unable to force Rome to capitulate, however, he was eventually forced to leave Italy and return to Carthage when a savvy Roman general named Scipio invaded North Africa. Hannibal and Scipio fought an epic battle at Zama, which Hannibal lost. Many Carthaginians blamed Hannibal, who was exiled until his death.
Hannibal is still regarded as a military genius. Napoleon, George Patton, and Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. are only some of the generals who studied and admired him. His strategy and tactics are still taught in military academies. “With wonderful energy...archeologist and historian Patrick Hunt distills his survey of literature about the Second Punic War into a brightly dramatic story that covers virtually every anecdote connected with Hannibal” (The Christian Science Monitor). “Hunt’s story of the doomed general, whose exploits are more celebrated than those of his vanquishers, will appeal to any reader interested in military history or strategy” (Publishers Weekly).
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781439102183 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date: | 07/03/2018 |
Edition description: | Reprint |
Pages: | 384 |
Sales rank: | 158,889 |
Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Hannibal
Cannae still elicits a shudder from almost everyone after more than two thousand years. A considerable part of Hannibal’s reputation as a military genius seems to rest on this half day in early August of 216 BCE, perhaps more than is justifiable.
Reconstructing the battle from sometimes confusing or even slightly contradictory sources is challenging, but enough consensus exists to provide a fairly reliable account. Even after winnowing out the hyperbole that accompanies such events, Cannae remains a singularly dramatic day. Standing on the hill above the valley where the Aufidus (now Ofanto) River winds to the coast, and walking back and forth on the narrow plain that is about a mile or so wide on an August day similar to that in the summer of 216, I was reminded that however peaceful and still it looked, the horrible fate of so many Romans in that battle had made Cannae infamous.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
Author's Note xvii
1 The Vow 1
2 Young Hannibal 13
3 Spain 20
4 Saguntum 31
5 Over The Pyrenees 38
6 Crossing the Rhône 45
7 Gateway to the Alps 53
8 The Second Ambush 60
9 Summit of the Alps 68
10 Ticinus 74
11 Trebia 85
12 The Apennines and the Arno Marshes 99
13 Trasimene 109
14 Fabius Maximus and Escape 121
15 Cannae 131
16 The Campaign for South Italy 148
17 The March On Rome 163
18 War In Spain 174
19 Scipio Captures Cartagena 184
20 Metaurus 194
21 Roman Triumph, Italy to Spain 207
22 Zama 220
23 Exile 245
24 Hannibal's Legacy 262
Acknowledgments 271
Notes 275
Bibliography 317
Index 349