Hannibal (Wordsworth Military Library) [Paperback]

Ernle Bradford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wordsworth Military Library | Publication Date: September 2000

Hannibal had long known his fate should the Romans ever lay hands upon him. He had taken an army right through Spain and into what is now France, crossed the Alps (at a time of year when no one believed it possible), and invaded Italy. Then, for 15 years, he used the country as his battlefield and his home, destroying Roman armies with an almost contemptuous ease. For centuries after his death, Roman mothers would frighten their children into behaving by telling them: "Hannibal is at the Gates!" Even today, Hannibal stands as one of the greatest generals in the history of warfare and his battlefield tactics are still studied in military academies all over the world. Ernie Bradford presents a biography, exploring the strategies of his greatest triumphs and showing us Hannibal as the soldier, the general, the statesman and the private man - revealing a personal charisma and leadership ability that makes his presence still felt in every country bordering the Mediterranean.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

6 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840222263
• ISBN-13: 978-1840222265
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,517,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, July 28, 2000

By 

Tom Gillis (Kensington, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal (Hardcover)

This is a standard biography of the Cartaginian military leader Hannibal, which is now (summer 2000)out of print, I believe. The writing is fine, and the story line (if one can use that term for a non-fiction book) is interesting: despite an (apparently) unending series of tactical and operational successes, Hannibal loses the war against Rome, due primarily to strategic considerations outside of his control (i.e., Carthage should never have taken on this war unless they had changed their approach substantially). There are lessons here for modern man (sometimes, despite having the smartest generals, the best trained and most experienced troops, cutting-edge military technology, the wealthiest society in the known world supporting you, and pretty good luck (to boot), it's just not enough) -- well, I could go on here for a long time, but will refrain from doing so.

Although perfectly enjoyable, the book suffers from 2 major shortcomings; one unavoidable, but the second easily addressed, but evidently addressing it wasn't worth the time and effort of the author and/or publisher:

1. The sources on Hannibal's life are Roman (only). There simply are no other sources of information. The author recognizes this explicitly, and tries to balance the Roman accounts with "common sense" interpretations and a modern understanding of the situation.

2. The absence of sufficient maps: This is just inexcusable (unfortunately, it is very common in modern books of this sort). Repeatedly throughout the book, the author uses phrases such as "Hannibal marched to (this town), then to (that town), while the Romans marched to (someplace else)". These towns generally don't appear in modern atlases, and there is no further description in the book (is it on the coast? in the mountains? north? south" east? west?). Without any additional guidance, this is simply useless information. One is tempted to believe that the author has read this information in source materials, but never bothered to discover what it actually meant (could this be true? Nah). It's more likely that the publisher was unwilling to spring for a couple of pennies per book to provide the maps (or that the author couldn't be bothered to spend the couple of weeks necessary to get them included). In any case, it's a shame, and detracts from an otherwise excellent book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, Broad Coverage, August 27, 2003

By 

Martin L. Fawls (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

Informative without being too technical in a military sense. Major battles were covered, but not in minute detail; which I often find boring. Overall strategies are covered without the step by step walkthrough of each battle.
Not really knowing a lot of specifics about Hannibal, I thought this was a very good book to start off with. I had read Bradford's work on Thermopylae and liked that. Hannibal is similar in style. It is obvious that Bradford admires Hannibal, but he balances that out with an almost equal admiration of the Roman's ability to withstand and ultimately defeat him. I came away a little surprised with a sense that Hannibal had a great sense of humor and that he realized his attempt to break Rome was in vain fairly early in the effort. It is probably that, in the end, which I like about Bradford's style - particularly in this book; I have much more of a sense of who Hannibal was than just reading a history of Hannibal.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read, March 9, 2002

By 

Fred M. Blum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

Hannibal by Ernle Bradford is a fine and enjoyable read about the history of the Second Punic War, with a principal focus on Hannibal's invasion of Italy and the subsequent 17 year occupation. It is obvious that the author is an admirer of Hannibal, and a grudging admirer of Rome. In some ways Hannibal is treated as a almost mythic character who not only was a military genius but attempted to fight a noble war. The Romans, on the other hand, are portrayed as devious, untrustworthy with their only saving graces being their perseverance and ability to eventually adapt to the superior abilities of Hannibal.

The book greatest failures lie in the descriptions of the major battles, especially Cannae. One of the greatest military feats of history is dealt with in a few pages. While Bradford does describe the basics of the battle, he does so in a very perfunctory manner. The same is true for the other major engagements. Further, the almost total lack of maps makes the battles and the troop movements difficult to follow.

The strength of the book is in the description of how the Romans eventually prevailed and Hannibal's miscalculations of the Roman persistence. After the destruction of up to 70,000 troops at Cannae, and numerous legions prior to the battle, most empires would have crumbled. Rome did not. The reasons for Rome's survival is the best reason to read this book.