Product Description

Scipio Africanus (236183 B.C.) was one of the most exciting and dynamic leaders in history. As commander he never lost a battle. Yet it is his adversary, Hannibal, who has lived on in the public memory, due mostly to his daring march through the Alps with his elephants. At the Battle of the Ticinus, Hannibals initial encounter with Roman arms, young Scipio first tasted warfare, rescuing his dangerously wounded, encircled father, who was also the Roman commander. By nineteen Scipio was the equivalent of a staff colonel and in 210 B.C. he was placed in supreme command. In three years he destroyed Carthaginian power in Spain and, after being made consul, took his forces to Africa, where he conquered Carthages great ally, Syphax. Two years later he clashed with Hannibal himself, annihilating his army in the decisive Battle of Zama. For this triumph and his other exploits in the Punic Wars, Scipio was awarded the title Africanus. In his fascinating portrait of this extraordinary commander, B. H. Liddell Hart writes, The age of generalship does not age, and it is because Scipios battles are richer in stratagems and rusesmany still feasible todaythan those of any other commander in history that they are an unfailing object lesson. Not only military enthusiasts and historians but all those interested in outstanding men will find this magnificent study absorbing and gripping.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #859564 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Customer Reviews

A masterpiece of military writing
As ever Liddell-Hart combines his vast knowledge of all things military with his distinctive writing style. Writing shortly after the mechanised horrors of World War I which he witnessed at first hand there is no little melancholy about the book, this is a quest for a golden age when generals displayed genius and originality rather than merely hurling wave after wave of young men against the machine of death that industrialised warfare had become. Sadly it seems Liddell-Hart seems to have used the more colourful writing of Livy as his main source, particularly when he talks of the Carthaginian forces massed at Zama for the final showdown between Scipio and Hannibal - the Army of Italy which had triumphed at Cannae this was not. However this is a masterpiece of military writing and a worthy tribute to one of the (almost) forgotten generals of history. Scipio's genius was that he learnt from a true master of the art of war and transformed Rome's military forever. Greater than Napoleon? Probably not, not even greater than Hannibal, yet militarily at least Scipio was ultimately triumphant. Hannibal stands above Alexander amongst the generals of antiquity, for all of Rome's military failings prior to his arrival in Italy, Rome and her allies, especially their total dominance of the sea, combined with the the inability of Carthage to fully support his Italian campaign meant that he faced vastly superior and far more determined opposition than Alexander ever would (sorry Alexander fans!). Hannibal did not lose the war any more than Scipio singlehandedly won it, but this is a terrific read and will greatly enhance the readers knowledge of tactics and strategy, but admirers of Napoleon should not take the title of the book as an insult, Liddell-Hart's Scipio, if not the real man, certainly surpasses any general in history. Peter Connolly and Ernle Bradford have both produced books that do more justice to the great Carthaginian and the Second Punic War and perhaps put Scipio in a truer light, a very gifted and innovative commander. The man who beats Napoleon hands down is the Mongol general Subodai, but that's another story...

Scipio Africanus, the general who saved and made Rome
In their decling years Scipio met with Hannibal who he had vanquished and asked who in Hannibal's mind was the greatest general.
"Alexander" did Hannibal reply
"And second best?"
"Pyrrus"
"And the third?"
"Myself"
"And if you had beaten me?"
"Then I would have counted myself first" did Hannibal reply.

Scipio is without doubt one of the greatest military geniuses of antiquity and should deserve a better place in history. Liddle Hart presents a strong case in his favor but that is rather a weakness than a strength in this book.

For the most part the book reads like a good fictional novel, its text is smooth and you feel that you get to know Scipio quite well and his brilliance shines without Liddle Hart attempting his comparisons to other generals of old. I found his comparisons unneccessary and sometimes a bit too much, regardless of their truth. But the book is good enough that this is only a minor annoyance ans for the most part I found it quite good. I read it after reading Hannibal by Ernle Bradford and I found that they complemented each other very well. Easily 4 stars and for the low price it is well worth the buy.

Perhaps
Lidddell Hart has written firstly a very good biography of Scipio Africanus and also a good work of Military History. His understanding of battle tactics and the decisive actions that can make victory is testimony to his own great experience. However I agree somewhat with other reviewers - he belittles the achievements of Alexander and Hannibal (although not Caesar) and I don't believe a comparison with Napoleon is necessarily.
But the underrated brilliance of Africanus: his astonishing rise to command in his early twenties, his charisma, inspirational leadership and most of all his canny understanding of Strategy in an age where few could comprehend the concept is well illustrated.