Hannibal

One Man Against Rome

By: Harold Lamb

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the breathtaking adventure of the great Carthaginian general who shook the foundations of Rome. When conflict between Rome and Carthage resumed in 219 B.C., after a brief hiatus from the first Punic War, the Romans decided to invade Spain. Eluding several Roman legions sent out to intercept him in Spain and France, Hannibal Barca astoundingly led his small army of mercenaries over the Alps and thundered down into the Po Valley. The Carthaginian swept all resistance from his path and, as one victory led to another, drove a wedge between Rome and its allies. Hannibal marched up and down the Italian peninsula for 18 years, appearing well nigh invincible to a Rome which began to doubt itself for the first time in its history.

This violent and exciting narrative will thrill you with the accounts of heroism and brilliance displayed on both sides as the war raged mercilessly across the entire Western Mediterranean. Learn how the patience of Fabius Maximus and the genius of Lucius Cornelius Scipio finally turned the tide in this, the world's first "global" conflict...a conflict whose aftermath proved to be one of the most decisive and enduring events in world history. And finally, learn the secret to the success of Hannibal, the most brilliant military commander of all time.

©2003 Audio Connoisseur (P)2003 Audio Connoisseur

Great Biography

This is a well researched biography that the author masterfully crafts into a well told story. Not just of the man who was Hannibal but of the Roman and Punic Character. I HIGHLY recommend this to fans of military history or of Roman history.

Masterfully written.

Where does Hannibal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A stand out for history buffs. Incredibly well written, deep explanation of the main figures and their motives, visceral and clear descriptions of battle sequences. A brilliantly narrated piece of work, one of the best if not the best narrator I've heard.

What did you like best about this story?

It played out like a great movie, but was made all the more enjoyable as it a tru account.

Which character – as performed by Charlton Griffin – was your favorite?

Well, the titular one, of course. Though I was very fond of Scipio's manner.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The title.

Any additional comments?

Brilliant narration.

Interesting, well-presented, short on character

It is so true that history is written by the winners. While I found this book to be well written and reasonably interesting, it wasn’t terribly engaging. Most of it was the story of troop movements, battle formations and tactics and not stories of the man himself. He remains to me almost as mysterious as he was before I read this, only knowing of him through the eyes of Roman accounts and personalities. Carthage must be destroyed, indeed. What’s left of source material about Hannibal is twisted by Roman propaganda of the time and historical axe-grinding (Livy is a perfect example of this) and so makes for a vague biography of a man who must have been quite feared if his name ended up so blackened by his enemies. Still, his name lives on and is more famous even than his enemy’s, the victor Publius Scipio Africanus so I guess the winners can’t have everything.

There’s nothing of Hannibal’s childhood or education, political struggles in coming to power or his domestic life and children; the things we need to fully engage with him as a person, not just a persona. Even his military tactics and planning were shrouded in mystery, told through the fact of their occurrence more than why Hannibal did what he did. I’d love to be able to read about conversations and meetings he had with his subordinates. I’d love to know why he seemed so indecisive after winning key battles. For example after Cannae, why didn’t he march on Rome itself? The Roman army was basically wiped out and nothing stood in his way, but he held back and instead marched through Italia confiscating crops. I would like to have known what it was like to be persuaded by his charisma as his whole army must have been or else they would have mutinied on more than one occasion during their long and arduous campaigns.

What information there was to be had Lamb worked into an interesting and well crafted storyline. Of course much of the story is about battles and who won what and when. Not only when Hannibal was in command of troops, but his father Hamilcar and others like Hasdrubal. At the time Lamb wrote the book he says that military historians still had not found out which route exactly Hannibal took over the Alps in his famous march. Amazing. Is it weird that I felt more sympathy for the poor elephants than I did for the soldiers?

One complaint I have is for the audio publishing company – why didn’t you include maps??? It’s not so hard people. Luckily I have plenty of other physical books with maps so I could picture the movements, locations and distances. For those without maps in their homes, a quick trip to Hannibal’s Wikipedia page will definitely help.

Oh and damn Charlton Griffin and his butchery of language and pronunciation. I'm so disappointed that he's so often chosen for these classical works. He even has trouble with English!

Excellent and Informative

It took a while to get used to the timbre of the narrator but was glad I did. Fascinating story told from a very human point of view.

Hannibal- the unknown history

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. One of the best written histories ever

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hannibal?

There were many moments . For such a lengthy book, it was a fast listen.

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

I thought Charlton was the perfect narrator for this history

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My reaction to the book is that it is one of the best histories ever written

Great story

Fighting for your freedom in the face of hopeless odds. I think this is one of the most fascinating stories in History. I like the narration and the story telling.

Simply the Best

Simply this was the best Audible book I have heard. The author and narrator make this effort a true enjoyment. This is a complex story about a complex man in a complex time, told in a simple straight foward manner. If you are a history reader, this is a must.

Rome - Ancient Nazis?

Riveting book. Casts a new light on the brutality and ruthlessness of the Romans - the Nazis of their era. Ironically, Hannibal was of the semitic people of the African coast- destroyed in a roman holocaust

Extremely well read, well told. Since I knew what was going to happen to Carthage, it was difficult to hear the end, I had grown so fond of Hannibal.

Thorough, broad history, not so much about the man

Ostensibly a biography of the great Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, the fact is that it's hard to write authoritatively about what the man himself was like. Most of the records were written by his enemies, the Romans, who characterized him as cruel, mad, and treacherous. However, by looking at his actual actions, a different picture emerges, of someone who was a pretty decent man for his time, considering he spent the latter half of his life at war with an enemy that wanted to destroy his nation (and ultimately did). So most of the book talks about the history of the 2nd Punic war, which was the great contest between Rome and Carthage for domination of the Western Mediterranean.

Hannibal was a strategic genius who led his army in an extended campaign against the Roman Republic, before its ultimate ascendancy. For nearly twenty years he trounced the Romans in Italy, before finally being defeated on his home ground. His archrival, Scipio Africanus, was another man of great power and genius, and he defeated Hannibal after studying him for years.

One thing that emerges from this book is how much individual personalities mattered, both in war and in politics. Different generals than Hannibal and Scipio Africanus would almost certainly have meant different outcomes. Likewise, even after losing the war, Hannibal was powerful and influential in Carthage and instrumental in getting the city to repay its reparations to Rome. Likewise, forceful personalities in Rome (like Cato, who absolutely hated Carthage) were responsible for history taking the course it did. This book is a pretty strong argument for the theory that great men shape history. (I should probably say "great persons" or "great personalities," but frankly, women didn't have much to say in either Carthage or Rome.)

There are some modern parallels if you consider the reasons why Rome and Carthage went to war, and look at the political maneuvers of the Romans, the way Hannibal had to drag the super-wealthy Carthaginians into line to get the city's debts paid, and then how he was ultimately betrayed, first by his own people and then repeatedly by other rulers whom he assisted in resisting Rome.

There is a certain tragic inevitability in Carthage's ultimate fall, and Hannibal and Scipio Africanus both came to more ignominious ends than these great men deserved.

If you like histories of Roman antiquity with a fair amount of military information (but not too much about the nitty-gritty details about tactics and maneuvers), this is a good book. It's a bit dry at times; Lamb sticks to the source material and anything that might make it more interesting -- conjectures, ahistorical personalizing of the individuals, guesses about what might have happened -- he labels as such and doesn't go too far down that path. Hannibal himself remains more an icon than a man; if you want to hear his voice and see his personality, you'll have to resort to historical fiction.

I really liked the narration of this audiobook. Charlton Griffin has a rich, deep voice and reads the history, and Hannibal's words, with appropriate gravity. The occasional background noise of marching boots actually added to the mood, rather than being distracting as most sound effects are.

I would never had known...

From my history classes, I never learned the extent of the genius of this man. I cannot help but be amazed when I think about the things that Hannibal and his army endured. Throughout my educational history, I had gained a more than negative connotation to attach to the name, "Hannibal". After reading (listening to) this amazing accounting of not only Hannibal, but his brothers, father, and all of the Carthaginians for whom, Hannibal was a heroic champion, I have cast those thoughts aside. (Imagine, marching an army and elephants through the Alps to face the world's most feared Army!!!) I guarantee that you will want to hear this awesome story more than once!!!