Review by Choice Review
Hannibal has been generally seen as a military genius who fought against impossible odds. Hoyos (emer., Univ. of Sydney) marvels at Hannibal's ability to create a multicultural army and train good officers, and compares him to Alexander. He faults him, however, for allowing the Romans to cut off his reinforcements from Spain, for not deploying Fabian tactics in Africa, and, finally, for allowing Scipio to outgeneral him at Zama. Despite the paucity of evidence, Hoyos argues persuasively that Hannibal was a cultured man, loyal to friends and fond of women. Although he controlled the popular vote in Carthage, he was not a democrat. Hoyos thinks Hannibal could have defeated Rome and created a Punic Empire had he not made several crucial mistakes. This would not have been a disaster for the Mediterranean World, for Carthage had become Hellenized and thus would have been a reasonable hegemonic power. Hoyos, who has published scholarly books on the subject (e.g. Truceless War, CH, Jul'08, 45-6337; Hannibal's Dynasty, CH, Dec'03, 41-2328), does not cite any secondary works. He writes clearly, but the lack of maps hampers his discussion of military operations, particularly the battles of Cannae and Zama. This is an excellent book for nonspecialists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General, public, and undergraduate collections. A. J. Papalas East Carolina University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
