The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic - Hardcover

O'Connell, Robert L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1400067022 ISBN 13: 9781400067022

Publisher: Random House Inc, 2010

Synopsis

A dramatic account of the violent ancient battle traces the massive defeat of the huge but inexperienced Roman army by Hannibal's forces, interpreting the larger course of the Second Punic War and the often-disastrous ways in which the battle has been imitated throughout history.

About this title

Review:

"The slaughter at Cannae (216 B.C.) has haunted scholars and intrigued generals for over two millennia. Robert O'Connell combines first-rate scholarship, with face-of-battle graphic descriptions, to show us how horrific Hannibal's tactical masterpiece proved for thousands of trapped Romans on a single August afternoon.
A masterpiece of style, imagination, and erudition." --Victor Davis Hanson, author of Ripples of Battle and Carnage and Culture

"In beautifully chiseled prose, Robert O'Connell explains what really happened at bloody Cannae two thousand years ago and why it still matters. O'Connell says in a sentence what takes most of us pages. The Ghosts of Cannae is shrewd, sure, and one good read."--Barry Strauss, author of "The Spartacus War
"

"From the Hardcover edition."
"The slaughter at Cannae (216 B.C.) has haunted scholars and intrigued generals for over two millennia. Robert O'Connell combines first-rate scholarship, with face-of-battle graphic descriptions, to show us how horrific Hannibal's tactical masterpiece proved for thousands of trapped Romans on a single August afternoon.
A masterpiece of style, imagination, and erudition." --Victor Davis Hanson, author of Ripples of Battle and Carnage and Culture

"In beautifully chiseled prose, Robert O'Connell explains what really happened at bloody Cannae two thousand years ago and why it still matters. O'Connell says in a sentence what takes most of us pages. The Ghosts of Cannae is shrewd, sure, and one good read."--Barry Strauss, author of "The Spartacus War
"
"From the Hardcover edition."

"A masterpiece of style, imagination, and erudition."--Victor Davis Hanson, author of "A War Like No Other
"
"Outstanding . . . [a] superb chronicle of events that shaped the fate of Western civilization."--"Booklist
"
"[O'Connell] is able to put himself and his reader on the ground at Cannae, gagging in the heat of a southern Italian midsummer, assailed by an overload from every one of the five senses."--"The New York Times Book Review
"
"Dramatic and comprehensive . . . O'Connell has established the new standard for studies of the second conflict between Rome and Carthage."--"Publishers Weekly
"
"[O'Connell] writes with clarity about an era shrouded in speculation."--"Providence Journal-Bulletin"

A masterpiece of style, imagination, and erudition. Victor Davis Hanson, author of "A War Like No Other
"
Outstanding . . . [a] superb chronicle of events that shaped the fate of Western civilization. "Booklist
"
[O Connell] is able to put himself and his reader on the ground at Cannae, gagging in the heat of a southern Italian midsummer, assailed by an overload from every one of the five senses. "The New York Times Book Review
"
Dramatic and comprehensive . . . O Connell has established the new standard for studies of the second conflict between Rome and Carthage. "Publishers Weekly
"
[O Connell] writes with clarity about an era shrouded in speculation. "Providence Journal-Bulletin""

"A masterpiece of style, imagination, and erudition."--Victor Davis Hanson, author of A War Like No Other

"Outstanding . . . [a] superb chronicle of events that shaped the fate of Western civilization."--Booklist

"[O'Connell] is able to put himself and his reader on the ground at Cannae, gagging in the heat of a southern Italian midsummer, assailed by an overload from every one of the five senses."--The New York Times Book Review

"Dramatic and comprehensive . . . O'Connell has established the new standard for studies of the second conflict between Rome and Carthage."--Publishers Weekly

"[O'Connell] writes with clarity about an era shrouded in speculation."--Providence Journal-Bulletin

About the Author:

Robert L. O’Connell has worked as a senior analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center, as a contributing editor to MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, and most recently as a visiting professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression; Sacred Vessels: The Cult of the Battleship and the Rise of the U.S. Navy; Ride of the Second Horseman: The Birth and Death of War; Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present; and the novel Fast Eddie.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Inc
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1400067022
• ISBN 13: 9781400067022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 310