The War with Hannibal: The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 21-30) [Paperback]

Titus Livius Livy (Author), Aubrey De Selincourt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 014044145X | ISBN-13: 978-0140441451 | Publication Date: July 30, 1965

In The War with Hannibal, Livy (59 BC AD 17) chronicles the events of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, until the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. He vividly recreates the immense armies of Hannibal, complete with elephants, crossing the Alps; the panic as they approached the gates of Rome; and the decimation of the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Yet it is also the clash of personalities that fascinates Livy, from great debates in the Senate to the historic meeting between Scipio and Hannibal before the decisive battle. Livy never hesitates to introduce both intense drama and moral lessons into his work, and here he brings a turbulent episode in history powerfully to life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Titus Livius (59BC-AD17) began working on his History of Rome at the age of 30 and continued for over 40 years until his death. The history ran to 142 books, of which 35 survive. Aubrey de Selincourt (1896-1962) translated Livy, Heroditus, and Arrian for Penguin Classics. Betty Radice was joint editor of the Penguin Classics and an honorary fellow at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She died in 1985.

Product Details

• Paperback: 712 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (July 30, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014044145X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140441451
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a deed of dreadful note, June 3, 2001

By 

"macpazfink" (Adrogue, Buenos Aires Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War with Hannibal: The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 21-30) (Paperback)

I have just finished reading The War With Hannibal, and I must say that not only is it a masterpiece, but it is one of the books I most enjoyed reading. I had never read Livy before and this was a great discovery for me. Although it was written about two thousand years ago, this book is as engaging and appealing as if it had been written today. It is important, however, to make some points clear if you are not acquainted with Livy or other similar classical writers. First, this extense history of the Second Punic War is not history in the modern, scientific sense of this word. It is not a methodic, systematic and objective approach what you will find here: some parts are conjectural, some are simply invented. Throughout his account Livy inserts his political opinions and he is, of course, partial to the Romans. These is not being critical, because we can't judge Livy by our own, contemporary, cultural standards, but just something you should know before reading the book. Second, this is not a social or an economic history but basically a military history of the war with Hannibal. Livy focuses on the description of battles and sieges, on logistics like the movement of armies or the getting of supplies and on the commanders and the tactics employed. If this interests you, you should not hestitate to read it. With the ability of the best novelists, Livy constructs a wonderful narration of events, which never slackens its pace and is always interesting and entertainig. His descriptions of battles is vivid and some passages are full of tension and suspense. As an analyst, Livy is weaker than in his descriptions. His opinions, however, are highly lucid and you can see the influence his thought had upon Machiavelli, for instance when he speaks of the dangers of using armies made up of mercenary soldiers. This Penguin Classics' edition is very good and De Selincourt's translation is superb. I give this book the highest possible rating.

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest stories in world history, November 21, 2001

By 

Russael BK Johanys (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The War with Hannibal: The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 21-30) (Paperback)

The great Roman historian Livy tells a story as interesting as that of the American Civil War. The Second Punic War was a great crisis in Roman history. This book starts with the uneasy peace after the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Rome won that war. Carthage swore revenge, and Hannibal devoted his life to conquering his bitter enemy. He invaded Italy via Rome and the Alps with his elephants. No Roman army could stay in the field against his Carthaginians. A Roman consul named Fabius persuaded the Romans not to give battle, and for twenty years Hannibal roamed wherever he liked in Italy. But he wasn't strong enough to capture Rome, and there were Roman generals such as Marcellus who were able to defeat him partially. Meanwhile in Spain a young Roman general whose father and uncle had been killed by Hannibal devoted his life to defeating Hannibal. But not by fighting Hannibal in Italy. Rather, by first conquering Spain, then invading Africa, so Hannibal had to depart Italy, as it turned out forever, to defend his homeland. In Africa, at Zama, Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal. Scipio became the first of the great Romans who broke the mould of the Republican conventions. His family was instrumental in bringing Greek culture to Italy. Was this good for Rome? It was inevitable. The historian Livy wrote in the times of Augustus, about the time of Christ. Livy is not considered the best of historians, he's more interested in gripping narrative than in careful checking of sources. He writes in the annalistic format, that is, one year at a time. Livy wrote two hundred years after the events; it'd be like a modern historian describing the American Revolution. But he is Roman, and the flavor he imparts to events is very different from that of a modern day historian. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in thrilling history or in Rome.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much scarier than Anthony Hopkins!, October 13, 2003

By 

Tricky Woo (Zürich, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War with Hannibal: The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 21-30) (Paperback)

Popular histories really are sooooo popular nowadays, but few people realise that they have a tradition going back to Ancient Roman times. Mr Livy wrote his masterpiece around 25AD, about 250 years after the Roman Republic was very nearly destroyed by its most serious rival, the city of Carthage, located on the Northern African coast near modern day Tunis. This, the Second Punic War, lasted about 15 years, cost the Ancient World countless lives, and causing widespread suffering. The peoples of Carthage were avenging their own losses during the First Punic War, when the Roman forces narrowly beat and killed their great general, Hamilcar, forcing them to sign a most humiliating peace treaty. And the leader of the avenging Carthaginian forces? The mighty Hamilcar's even mightier son, Hannibal: a young man, born with a sword in his hand, leadership in his blue blood, and a personal vendetta against all things Roman.

The amazing crossing of the Swiss Alps by Hannibal's army (which included a number of battle elephants!) is about all that most people think of when they hear his name. Either that, or Anthony Hopkins. Yes, the crossing was miraculous: no convenient tunnels in those days, no romantic roads winding between meadows full of Alpine flowers, and no ski-lifts either. A significant proportion of his army was lost, to the cold, inevitable accidents, and incessant raids by grumpy locals. But his army remained intact enough for Hannibal's purposes: destroy Rome, conquer its territories, kill the men, sell the women and children into slavery, and haul its renown treasures back to Carthage.

His ambition was exceeded only by his imagination.

As Mr Livy makes very clear, the crossing of the Alps was yet another coup in Hannibal's long string of magnificent successes: the capture of the Spain peninsular; the crossing of the Alps into Italy; the total destruction of a mighty Roman army at Cannae (Just round the corner from Rome. Gulp!); countless other victories. For year after year, Hannibal wandered with impunity across the Italian peninsular causing havoc: laying siege to wealthy cities; ravaging the countryside to feed his huge and hungry army.

Hannibal was simply unbeatable in the field, and the Romans knew it.

But the Romans had other weapons, which Mr Livy takes great patriotic delight in showing off to great effect: it had a population large enough to keep producing army after army, even as Hannibal slaughtered them; it had a strong and effective government, unwilling to give up its republican ideals, no matter how closely the Carthaginian army camped by its city gates; it had talented generals who time and again diverted Hannibal from his main purpose; and most of all, it had the bravery, discipline and organisation for which Rome was, is, and will continue to be, famed. Yes, time would tell which of these two powerful cities would dominate the world for the next seven hundred years.

So why didn't Hannibal destroy Rome? How and where was he finally beaten? What happened to Carthage?

Read the book!