Customer Reviews

Hannibal (Wordsworth Military Library)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Historically accurate information on Hannibal is unfortunately shaded by the winners- Roman sources or Greek writers under Roman influence- primarily relied upon to set out his "true character". Bradford does an admirable job of economically pointing out the bias of his sources and offers anecdotal evidence as well as common sense analysis to butress the proposition that Hannibal is perhaps the greatest military mind of the classical world,and was not merely a bloodthirsty despot. Hannibal was bold and innovative in strategy and tactics,introducing into set-piece battles strategies which would be adopted in modern warfare(and would be used by Scipio Africanus to defeat him at Zama). This book helps to balance the typical propaganda defeated enemies of Rome endure even today in general history books. Just as valuably,the book sheds light on the dynamics of Mediterranian political and economic life,Roman and Carthaginian intrigues against their own military leaders,and offers some entertaining side-notes about Hasdrubal Barca, father of Hannibal. Bradford's writing is accessible and entertaining,but should be followed up with other books on this era in order to fully appreciate how significant Hannibal's efforts on behalf of Carthage were.

HANNIBAL by Ernle Bradford.
An excellent biography of one of history's great captains Hannibal Barca of Carthage as well as the story of the Second Punic War. While I doubt anyone below 40 today would even recognize the name, when I was a kid everyone recognized the image of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants to attempt to destroy Rome and most people had some familiarity with the famous battle of Cannae--which still ranks as one of the most decisive battles in history. A dramatic story and great history that everyone should know, this book is superb.
I have always found it odd that, except for the brilliant silent film CABIRIA and the film ordered made by Mussolini SCIPIO AFRICANUS , the story of Hannibal and the second war with Carthage has been mostly untouched by Hollywood. It is an epic story in every sense of the word...and nowadays since it tells the story of semitic pagan(Carthage was in North Africa---Libya I think or Tunisia)---destroying a western army, one would think Hollywood would be tripping over themselves to film it. They could have CGI elephants, Hannibal could be made to resemble Osama Bin Ladin and one of the Romans could be done up to look like George Bush!!
Good book and recommended. I particularly like how the author has actually visited the battlefields and describes how they have changed in 2,000 years. The damn Italians built a dam and flooded one entirely!!!! BAH!!!

The best book I've read on the best general ever.

Andy Johnson

I listened to the book on tape and it was captivating, although it would be quite distasteful for those who don't appreciate listening to details of battles. It was absolutely stunning to hear how Hannibal the underdog absolutely thrashed the overlords of the known world, the Romans, time and time again. For 16 years Hannibal ruled Italian soil in spite of the mass of Roman legions sent to quell him. Lessons about leadership, vision, persistence and character abound in this ancient story. A great read!

Today when most people hear the name Hannibal they think of the serial killer star of The Silence of the Lambs and subsequent films. This is unfortunate because Hannibal Barca, the subject of Mr. Bradford's biography, is a man who deserves to be better remembered. In addition to the elephant aided crossing of the Alps, which is all most people will remember even under prompting, for 17 years he bestrode Italy like a colossus, undefeated and undefeatable, and at Cannae he inflicted the greatest single day of battle slaughter in recorded military history. In the end it was all in vain due to Rome's iron will and sea trade born Carthage's inability to produce a navy that could win a single battle or a second general capable of beating a Roman army in battle, although given the disparity in numbers, it's an open question whether Carthage could EVER have won, under ANY circumstances.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that all ancient sources are blatantly pro-Roman, Mr. Bradford, as another reviewer put it, is obviously "an admirer of Hannibal, and a grudging admirer of Rome." Still, he's fair enough to criticize what he considers Hannibal's mistakes and to point out, barring a Roman moral collapse that never happened, just how all but hopeless Hannibal's task really was. In the process he makes this ancient history into a marvelous story that really ought to have been made into a movie.

Defects? The dearth of maps and the poor quality and placement of the few included is truly felt. It really shouldn't take five minutes of flipping back and forth to get only a rough idea of where some event detailed in the book actually happened!

For those seeking a more in depth treatment than this note free popular history, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic is recommended, though with significant reservations.

I picked up Bradford's 'Hannibal' at a used book store and couldn't put it down. Having just read other great military historians such as Shelby Foote and Michael Shaara, I put Bradford's work in the same category. Very easy to read, I was simply mesmerized by Hannibal's exploits against the Romans on their own turf (he never lost a battle in Italy). Strongly recommended.

This is a very good biography on the scourge of the Roman Empire. Mr. Bradford does a good job in telling about his youth, his hatred of Romans, his rise to fame, and his subsequent downfall. Not too lengthy and an enjoyable book.