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

My favorite history book of all time

great book, describes his life in detail, and does best to patch up missing parts of his life story by the facts we know about him.

A very good historical account

This is a great account of the history of Hannibal's campaign. A lot of research went into the work. It is narrated well.

Excellent

A great telling of the life of Hannibal Barca, the greatest general who ever lived. I highly recommend listening.

Not Just Elephants in the Alps

This book on Hannibal is riveting. It gave the background and exciting details of the second Punic War, making understandable the actions of both the Roman and Carthaginian sides. The reader is superb, changing his voice as needed when he is quoting Hannibal. Even Scipio Africanus and Cato become more than stick figures from Latin history in this history. I highly recommend this book.

Such a wonder of a human being!

I agree with and recommend the reviews below. One thing to add is that Hannibal was such an example of a capable human being. He protected is country from attack for many years, kept the bloodshed to a minimum while he was doing that, and was was simply so intelligent in surviving. Who else could have surprised the Romans with a devastating attack on a wide open plain? He even knew how to handle the situation of his own people turning on him in later years. His retirement itself could be a novel.

But he was not just a man of war. He saw the terms of defeat demanded by the Romans were inalterable, and then convinced his people to accept them, and not be foolish.

Then he reorganized the very economy of Carthaginian society so his countrymen could meet those terms and so avoid destruction of their city. Without Hannibal's leadership that would not have happened.

Hannibal was able to secure the cooperation of great varieties of peoples to secure Carthage against the Romans.

The book was very well read, also.

Ben

great read

get yourself a map of italy and even better a schematic of the battles. It is hard to picture some of the info w/o it.
This work illusidated an interesting part of history that most people gloss over. I would highly recommend it for
any military soul looking for a superb leadership example.

be warned of the sound effects between chapters. I thought my stereo had gone nuts!

What, no movie?

I found the story of Hannibal to be fascinating. For a book which isn't short it held my interest to the end.

Hannibal one man against rome

This book was an extremely lucid retelling of Hannibal and his campaign. It kept my attention, the battles were well described, and Hannibal became somewhat more of a person in spite of the limited direct information available about him.

Impressive

I'm am amateur historian rediscovering classic history. Recognizing that I didn't know much more about Hannibal than the trek across the Alps, I sought out a book about him. This book is more than just a bare-bones review of Hannibal. The author tries to recreate the times and makes some educated suppositions about what life must have been like to fill in some details. These are intermixed with known facts and the story reads almost like a novel. I liked it and the reader is pretty good also. Recommended.

Hannibal -- Who Knew?

Wow! Since am a fan of ancient literature, I looked forward to this book -- but I didn't expect a page turner. But there you are! I am simply amazed at how much detail is found here -- the author must have scoured every nook and cranny to get so much information on a man who lived 200 years before Christ, never wrote a word himself, and was remembered primarily by his enemies (Romans) who really wanted to erase him from memory. The author argues that Hannibal is a greater general in some ways than Napolean, and that, but for Hannibal, there would really be no Julius Ceaser (he got a lot of good ideas from Hannibal.) But besides the numerous fascinating war scenarios, and the intriguing tatics devised by Hannibal -- he's also a remarkable man-- loyal, cunning, taciturn, humble, and, yes -- caring. He really sacrificed his life for Carthage. Even in 6th grade, for some reason, I always rooted for the Carthigians -- now even more so! So get settled in your easy chair, and prepare for a darn good yarn. Trust me, there's a lot more to know about Hannibal than you probably know. Nicely read too. Sound effects add a nice touch setting scenes, but never get out of hand, and the narrator successfully projects various character voices. I love his take on Hannibal.