Philip Freeman (1) (1961–)

Freeman is well known in the historical world as the author of what is considered "the best" biography of Julius Caesar. (I have not read). In this book, the author begins at the beginning when Hannibal's, father, Hamilcar Barca, became General of the Carthage forces. Hannibal was aged around 8-10 at this time and swore to his father that he would never become a friend to Rome. After the death of his father and at the age of 26, Hannibal became the General of the Carthage forces. Some print was dedicated to the "story" of the war elephants, but this author said too much is made of that particular episode as it was not nearly as successful as people currently believe. Most of the book centered on the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE and what Hannibal did and did not do. What he did was surround Rome and route the Roman legion. What he did not do was invade the city proper and raze it; for he could have. He has been hailed as both a hero and a coward for this decision. Hannibal thought it not a wise use of resources nor worth the loss of the tens of thousands of lives it would have cost for an invasion of the city proper.

I also liked this book because the 19 pages at the end listed several of the main scholarly writings from which the author obtained his information. Amongst them: Livy, Polybius, Pinder, and Plutarch. The author attempts to evaluate their bias.… (meer)

As with his other biographies, the author has a simple and straightforward writing style which makes the narrative flow smoothly. Given the scope of Alexander‘s momentous achievements, it is easy to become bogged down in the detail of his journeys. However, the author strikes a good balance – he narrates Alexander‘s life and times with sufficient specificity, but maintains the reader’s attention.

An excellent first foray for those interested in Alexander. For those with more knowledge, the book does not present any new or novel concepts, but is still a worthwhile read.… (meer)