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The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic by Robert L. O'Connell
eznark's review against another edition
4.0
Really good book and an interesting look at the ramifications of the battle. It's a bit of a primer on the subject though and doesn't go as in depth as I'd have liked. He focuses on some not all that important "interesting facts" and I think that affected the depth to which he explored the exiled legionnaires themselves. He constantly alludes to the fact that this would come back to bite Rome in the ass but then sort of leaves it all hanging at the end. Now obviously we know what he means when he says it (soldiers start to follow their commanders, ever across the Rubicon), but I would have been interested to read his explorations of the topic.
The epilogue is an excellent point at which to dive deeper into the subject however. Bringing the fascination with Cannae to modern day relevance with Schlieffen, Rommel and even Stormin' Norman...I hope that O'Connell explores the topic again, focusing on the impact of the significant battle on modern warfare.
The epilogue is an excellent point at which to dive deeper into the subject however. Bringing the fascination with Cannae to modern day relevance with Schlieffen, Rommel and even Stormin' Norman...I hope that O'Connell explores the topic again, focusing on the impact of the significant battle on modern warfare.
wescovington's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a big fan of ancient history, as it was not exactly my favorite in college. And I'm not a big military history fan either. Nevertheless, I decided to give this book a shot.
The title refers to the Battle of Cannae, the single most brutal day of warfare ever waged in human history. In one day, on one field in Italy, Carthaginian forces under the command of Hannibal (with help from a lot of mercenaries) killed around 80,000 Roman soldiers. And it wasn't a pretty sight. Warfare in ancient times was ugly hand to hand battle. O'Connell described it as a "giant knife fight."
It's not an easy task to make events that happened over 2200 years. O'Connell succeeds to some extent as he gives you a good feel for what warfare was like in a time when bringing elephants on to the battlefield was considered a useful strategy. (Actually the elephants were mostly useless because they get spooked easily and just start stomping on anything and everything.)
There's a fair amount of Latin words that pop in (there's a glossary).
O'Connell tries to draw parallels between Cannae and modern day warfare, although it's a little bit of a stretch. There are fewer elephants now.
The title refers to the Battle of Cannae, the single most brutal day of warfare ever waged in human history. In one day, on one field in Italy, Carthaginian forces under the command of Hannibal (with help from a lot of mercenaries) killed around 80,000 Roman soldiers. And it wasn't a pretty sight. Warfare in ancient times was ugly hand to hand battle. O'Connell described it as a "giant knife fight."
It's not an easy task to make events that happened over 2200 years. O'Connell succeeds to some extent as he gives you a good feel for what warfare was like in a time when bringing elephants on to the battlefield was considered a useful strategy. (Actually the elephants were mostly useless because they get spooked easily and just start stomping on anything and everything.)
There's a fair amount of Latin words that pop in (there's a glossary).
O'Connell tries to draw parallels between Cannae and modern day warfare, although it's a little bit of a stretch. There are fewer elephants now.
thejdizzler's review against another edition
4.0
I started this book a bit nervous about how good the history was going to be because of the author's tangential let's-relate-this-to-random-things-in-modern day. However, I was pleasantly surprised when we started getting to actual history how good of a job O'Connell did. He managed to artfully use ancient sources to tell a compelling story that centered on Hannibal's personal quest to destroy Rome.
Key Takeaways:
-Rome really did not give up. The military losses from this war alone bleed them white, but they kept pumping out legions
-Ancient Sources have to be taken with a grain of salt because bias
-This war was not so much Carthage vs. Rome, but Hannibal vs. Rome
Key Takeaways:
-Rome really did not give up. The military losses from this war alone bleed them white, but they kept pumping out legions
-Ancient Sources have to be taken with a grain of salt because bias
-This war was not so much Carthage vs. Rome, but Hannibal vs. Rome
liberrydude's review against another edition
3.0
Hannibal, a fascinating, charismatic leader who left the Romans(the masters of military might) living in both fear and rage. He was an operational and tactical genius and this is his story just as much as it is the story of the Battle of Cannae. But what good is it to win all the battles and not the war? Sounds just like Vietnam. I could never understand why Hannibal who marched all over Italy did not go after Rome, the city, and O'Connnell provides an explanation or two. It's too bad we don't know more about him and the society that produced him. A nice glossary here but maps were adequate and a timeline along with some diagrams of Roman military organization would have been helpful as well as some pictures of the weapons involved. I never knew the survivors of Cannae were treated like lepers by the leaders of Rome. This ultimately contributed to the death of democracy in Rome. All in all a good book with some lessons for today's leaders on war.
auspea's review against another edition
5.0
Superb dramatic rendition of Rome's victories over Hannibal and Carthage. Captivating depictions of the brutal defeats and glorious victories that comprise the struggle between Carthage and Rome in the 2nd century BC. The author presents a comprehensive look at the geopolitical forces of the period throughout the Mediterranean basin, while at the same time examining the personalities and histories of the famous and infamous of the period. I find it fascinating how similar the Great-Power struggles and political in-fighting are between ancient and modern times. The superpowers of 2000 years ago faced the same challenges that we struggle with in the 21st century. The same can be said of the political chaos And in fighting, backstabbing, corruption, scheming and all the other things that make up modern politics. Its evident that the deep state was just as powerful two millennia ago. Essential reading for fans of military history and geopolitics, you won't be disappointed.
disastrouspenguin's review against another edition
4.0
Consumed as an audiobook. The narrator was solid.
Really interesting book on build-up, event of, and consequences of Cannae, almost through to present day. I "read" this via audiobook, so it was difficult at points to try to remember which Roman or Punic name was tied to which character and which deeds, and not be able to just flip back a few pages or chapters for reference. I would definitely consider reading the text version.
Really interesting book on build-up, event of, and consequences of Cannae, almost through to present day. I "read" this via audiobook, so it was difficult at points to try to remember which Roman or Punic name was tied to which character and which deeds, and not be able to just flip back a few pages or chapters for reference. I would definitely consider reading the text version.
binstonbirchill's review against another edition
5.0
Having read Livy and a few other books on Hannibal I was beginning to wonder if there was any new information to be gathered by reading another book about the one-eyed general from antiquity. Having just read the book by Hunt on the same subject I took a risk in moving to O’Connell’s Ghosts of Cannae so quickly. Thankfully I was rewarded with a brilliant new take, the defeated soldiers at Cannae being the thread that allowed the presentation of the Second Punic War to be told in a refreshing way. Aside from the original sources on Hannibal I would rate Ghosts as the best book on the subject that I’ve found to date.
jbelang85's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent short single volume history of the Punic Wars. Anyone interested in ancient Rome, Hannibal, or military history, should read this book.