Title: The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Empire.
Author: Robert L. O'Donnell
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.
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.
