Hannibals krig: Kartagos kamp mot romerne

by John Peddie, Thomas Tønnessen (Translator)

Etter en serie sviende nederlag mot den kartagiske hærføreren Hannibal, samlet romerne til et endelig oppgjør ved Cannae i august 216 f.Kr. Kremen av de romerske legioner, mer enn 87.000 mann, sto overfor Kartagos sammensatte hær av veteraner og leiesoldater. Da slaget var over, lå 60.000 romerske soldater igjen på valplassen, den blodigste dagen i militærhistorien fram til slaget ved Somme. Hannibals seier ved Cannae studeres fremdeles ved miltærakademier verden over som en taktisk genistrek. Den dramatiske historien om Hannibals liv og hans krig mot romerne er endelig tilgjengelig på norsk. John Peddie belyser personen bak de historiske fakta, hærføreren som nesten alltid seiret på slagmarken, men som strategisk sett var dømt til å mislykkes.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Roman History, Military History, War

275 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannibal Barca was one of the greatest military minds of all time. In the 3rd century BC, he came close to toppling the Roman Republic after winning three battles in quick succession. Then, for the next decade or so just tried to hold his own while the Romans got smarter and send better generals after him.

What happened? As his own brother told him, Hannibal knew how to win victories, but not how to use them. John Peddie's Hannibal's War is a study of his military career by a British military historian.

I loved reading Peddie's book and was dismayed only on two counts: The maps and tables are of poor quality and do not support the text, which was of a quality that deserved better.

Although I was clearly on Rome's side in the conflict, I felt that Hannibal's story was the stuff of tragedy. I wonder if one was ever written about him.

[Paul Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was very heavy going at times, mostly because the author is a detailed historian, and I was expecting more of a general story rather than the level of historical detail. There are also a good many terms introduced that I believe to be Latin in origin, and it would’ve been helpful to have had some translation in parentheses.
It certainly tells the story of Hannibal, and if you are a true historian you would probably appreciate the book more than me.