Cannae: Hannibal’s Greatest Victory by Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (PDF)

Description

From an award-winning historian of ancient Rome, the definitive history of Rome’s most devastating defeatAugust 2, 216 BC was one of history’s bloodiest single days of fighting. On a narrow plain near the Southern Italian town of Cannae, despite outnumbering their opponents almost two to one, a massive Roman army was crushed by the heterogeneous forces of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who had spectacularly crossed the Alps into Italy two years earlier. The scale of the losses at Cannae — 50,000 Roman men killed — was unrivaled until the industrialized slaughter of the First World War. Although the Romans eventually recovered and Carthage lost the war, the Battle of Cannae became Romans’ point of reference for all later military catastrophes. Ever since, military commanders confronting a superior force have attempted, and usually failed, to reproduce Hannibal’s tactics and their overwhelming success.In Cannae, the celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy offers a concise and enthralling history of one of the most famous battles ever waged, setting Cannae within the larger contexts of the Second Punic War and the nature of warfare in the third century BC. It is a gripping read for historians, strategists, and anyone curious about warfare in antiquity and Rome’s rise to power.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is a colorful and succinct account of perhaps the greatest single military debacle prior to the First World War. There is enough context provided before and in summary, to place this 2nd Punic War battle of Cannae within the important development of Western Civilization.Far from dry, this fast reading battle history, provides ancient classical military color and detail among participants, Republican Rome, its “allies” as well as Carthage and its polyglot army.Adrian Goldsworthy acknowledges the primary sources and identifies the sometimes questionable objectivity of same. The author is honest in identifying the conjectural, sometimes posing as fact, yet inserts academic plausibility where needed.This battle history includes useful maps, footnotes and appendixes as well as useful glossary. Adrian Goldsworthy remains one of the foremost among a rich bevy of classical world military historians.. worthy of any shelf.

⭐This had plenty of detail and explained how Hannibal was able to use Rome’s strengths – and even his own weaknesses – to his advantage and achieve one of the greatest military feats in history. It was never a dry read, and I’ll be rereading it when I’m In a history mood again haha.

⭐I am fast falling in love with all of his work, but this is one of my favourites because of the sheer wealth of information about so many details of the battle. If you loved “Ghosts of Cannae,” then this is a great companion to your collection. It sheds light into the tactics and mechanics of the battle that cost Rome so dearly, and dispells many Hollywood-inspired misconceptions about ancient warfare.

⭐isn’t a full-blown history of Cannae and the Second Punic War. Rather, it is history done in a coffee-table book style. The book has dozens of pictures and great maps of the battlefield. The text is a bit dry, but very detailed. I wouldn’t recommend this for newcomers to Roman history – Goldsworthy doesn’t provide enough historical context for his readers (I might suggest Robert O’Connell’s

⭐for a more general history). Rather, this book is really for readers who want to get into the details of the battle and some nice photos to help bring the history alive.

⭐This is the battle. The big one. Rome versus Hannibal. Outnumbered and outmatched he still manages to not only win but inflict a crippling defeat, obliterating the Roman army. And with this book you can find out why. Well researched and well presented, this book will show you as clearly as possible how it happened. The book is filled with useful diagrams and maps to help show the position of the forces at every stage in the battle. This isn’t a campaign book where most of the text is occupied with the events leading up to the battle, most of the lead up is rushed through pretty quick to get to the fighting.

⭐Adrian does a great job relaying the preceeding events and the battle itself. As always, his commentary is conise yet very informative. Cannae is very “readable”, and can be knocked out after two days of beach reading. Highly recommend….

⭐As a fan of Goldsworthy, I couldn’t wait until this title came out and he did no disappoint. Considered by many the greatest battle of all time, Hannibal’s strategy used here has tried to be copied by such great as Napoleon, Robert E. Lee, and even General Schwarzkopf in desert storm. The are maps of the battle from scene to scene, along with getting the feeling you are watching the battle unfold. If you have studied this battle much, then this book is a must for all student from beginners to advanced

⭐Awesome!!! The author has updated his research into the battle and the color maps of different positions during the beginning of the battle has really helped make this author the absolute expert on this era in world history. If you’re even remotely interested in this period, you MUST have this book!!!

⭐I have several books on the battle and this one only rates as average, though Mr Goldsworthy does make several excellent point. Not enough to raise it above the others however. I think the best one I have is “The Ghosts of Cannae” by Robert O’Connell. But my view might be affected by the fact that the copy I have is a talking book. YMMV.As well as the battle itself the author gives a brief overview of the situation both before and after the battle putting Hannibal’s achievement in context. Though I was surprised to read that neither the Greeks or Romans at this point in time were very good at sieges hence Hannibal not trying to take Rome.I can only assume that this remained in the finished book by mistake. Overall an enjoyable read but I wasn’t impressed by the overall quality of the actual book, the paper used will yellow very quickly I’m sure.

⭐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.Ben Kane, author of Hannibal: Enemy of Rome.

⭐A most remarkable account of the Cannae Battle, but also about the facts that eventually led to it. You get a good overview of the First and Second Punic Wars and a masterly detailed description of the battle with many geographical, strategical and tactical considerations that slowly lead the writer to discover what might have happened more than 2.000 years ago in one of the most brutal and spectacular military conflicts human history has witnessed. At your disposal you will also find superb easy to follow colored maps showing how the battle developed. Roman and Carthaginian societies and especially their military machinery are also considered in this great book.Very professionally written but easy to read at the same time, it has been a delight from the first to the last page.

⭐I have a friend who has a copy of this book, however it is a larger coffee table book with colour pictures etc. This is a small novella-style book, with black and white diagrams and pictures. The book itself was still very enjoyable and Adrian Goldsworthy’s writing and critical knowledge of the subject is excellent as always.

⭐Cannae by Adrian Goldsworthy is a fantastic analysis of Hannibal’s famous victory over Rome. The build up, the battle itself and the aftermath are all examined. This is a great companion to Adrian Goldsworthy’s book The Fall of Carthage.

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