The Punic Wars
The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 146 B.C. irrevocably changed the course of ancient history. Carthage, with her empire centered in North Africa, was humbled and then destroyed. Before the wars, Rome's power was limited to the Italian peninsula; by the end of the wars, Rome was the dominant power in the Mediterranean and was poised on the brink of even greater imperial expansion. Goldsworthy is an Oxford graduate and clinical scholar with particular expertise in Roman military history. His survey of this pivotal conflict is a masterful account that will appeal to both specialists and general readers who appreciate a superbly told story. Goldsworthy explains complicated military moves in easily understood language, and he conveys the vast scope and carnage of the wars with both insight and objectivity. His portraits of some of the key players, including Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, and Fabius Maximus, are both informative and thought-provoking. This story, of course, has been told before, but rarely as well.Jay FreemanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved