Charles River Editors (ed.). Hannibal and Scipio Africanus: The Lives and Careers of the Second Punic War’s Legendary Generals

Charles River Editors Press, 2020. — 56 p.Hannibal will always be listed among history’s greatest generals, and his military campaign in Italy during the Second Punic War will always be studied, but part of the aura and mystique surrounding the Carthaginian legend is that there is still a lot of mystery. Since Carthage was destroyed by Rome a generation after Hannibal, most of what is known about Hannibal came from the very people he tormented in the late 2nd century BCE, and thus much of his background is unknown. Moreover, even as military historians are still amazed that he was able to maintain his army in Italy near Rome for nearly 15 years, they are still puzzled over some of his decisions, including why he never attempted to march on Rome in the first place. While he remains far less known than Hannibal, Publius Cornelius Scipio, the man who has become known to history as Scipio Africanus, is widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. In the space of less than 10 years, the genius of Scipio took Rome from being on the brink of utter destruction to becoming the dominant power in the Mediterranean. He displayed not just acute understanding of the tactical needs of the battlefield but also a strategic overview that consistently allowed him to confound his enemies. Scipio has been described as “the embodiment of grand strategy, as his campaigns are the supreme example in history of its meaning.