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

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Random House Publishing Group, Jul 13, 2010 - History - 336 pages

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

For millennia, Carthage’s triumph over Rome at Cannae in 216 B.C. has inspired reverence and awe. No general since has matched Hannibal’s most unexpected, innovative, and brutal military victory. Now Robert L. O’Connell, one of the most admired names in military history, tells the whole story of Cannae for the first time, giving us a stirring account of this apocalyptic battle, its causes and consequences.

O’Connell brilliantly conveys how Rome amassed a giant army to punish Carthage’s masterful commander, how Hannibal outwitted enemies that outnumbered him, and how this disastrous pivot point in Rome’s history ultimately led to the republic’s resurgence and the creation of its empire. Piecing together decayed shreds of ancient reportage, the author paints powerful portraits of the leading players, from Hannibal—resolutely sane and uncannily strategic—to Scipio Africanus, the self-promoting Roman military tribune. Finally, O’Connell reveals how Cannae’s legend has inspired and haunted military leaders ever since, and the lessons it teaches for our own wars.

 

Contents

The Mediterranean Basin at the Beginning of the Second
28
ROME
29
CARTHAGE
57
HANNIBALS WAY
84
THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG
106
The Italian Theater and Hannibals March to Cannae
130
CANNAE
132
Probable Force Dispositions Prior to Battle
147
The Trap Sprung
156
AFTERSHOCKS
170
The Spanish Theater
198
THE AVENGERS
199
RESURRECTING THE GHOSTS
227
THE SHADOW OF CANNAE
261
Glossary of Latin Military and Technical Terms
289
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About the author (2010)

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.

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