Cannae: Hannibal's Greatest Victory by Adrian Goldsworthy (NF)

[parthianbow]

I'm not sure how many of Goldsworthy's texts I own now, but it's at least 7 or 8. He's one of the preeminent Roman scholars about, and usefully, he's very good at writing about the Romans too. I've had this book for about 3 years, but only got around to reading it now, because it's now that I am writing about the battle of Cannae in my series of novels about the Second Punic War.

The first 80 or so pages of the book fleshes out details of the history that led to this battle, and provides succinct accounts of the mid-Roman Republic, Carthage, and the armies of both civilisations. We're told about Hannibal and the Roman leaders he faced, the controversies surrounding the exact location of the battlefield, and then the juicy details of the battle. What I like about Goldsworthy is that where ever there is doubt about a detail or a moment in the battle, he says so, and then explains how and why he agrees or disagrees with it. Not all academics are this transparent, which leads to some readers making incorrect assumptions about what has been said.

There are plenty of good maps and diagrams of the battle, and a decent bibliography as well. In my opinion, this is an indispensable text for those who are interested in one of the bloodiest one day battles of all time. It's also very useful to have if wandering about the site of Canne della Battaglia, in Puglia, Italy, because it makes the site come alive. Five solid stars out of five.

[annis]

He writes a good novel as well- I've enjoyed his series set during the Napoleonic Wars

[Justin Swanton]

A good friend of mine, Patrick Waterson, wrote an excellent article for Slingshot magazine on the battle, attached here:

Cannae Hannibals Masterpiece.zip

I recommend him since he makes an excellent use of primary sources and is very erudite on this period. His article on Zama is a novel and illuminating explanation for Hannibal's seemingly incompetent handling of that battle.