Rating: 
Summary: Greater Than Napoleon!
Review: "So general is the recognition of Hannibal's genius in this battle art that he is commonly termed the supreme tactician of history. Yet in ruse and strategem the record of Scipio's battles is even richer (p.253)."
Author Basil H. Liddell Hart has created a wonderful story outlining the history and exploits of possibly the greatest general of any military force, Scipio Africanus.
Publius Cornelius Scipio was born in Rome in 235 B.C.; his first recorded taste of warfare was at the battle of the Ticinus, where Hannibal first clashed with the Romans after his famous passage through the Alps with his elephants, and in which Scipio's father was the commander. Here the 17 year old Scipio saved his father's life, and only two years later, the year of the Romans' disastrous defeat at Cannae, he was already the equivalent of a Colonel. In 210 B.C. the dynamic and charasmatic young Scipio was put in supreme command; Ticinus and Cannae were the only scenes of failure Scipio witnessed, for in command he never lost a battle. In three years he destroyed Carthaginian power in Spain and on his return to Italy pressed for a direct attack on Carthage. Made consul, he took his forces to Africa where he destroyed the forces of Carthage's great ally, Syphax. Two years later he clashed with Hannibal himself, annihilating his army in the decisive battle of Zama. For his triumph of arms, which finally broke Carthaginian power, he was awarded the title of "Africanus."
At 280 pages, this text is very entertaining and easy to read and understand. Without footnotes and only a short bibliography, the book is still a watershed of ancient military insight from the military historian master himself, B.H. Liddell Hart. I rate this text as five stars! Superb!
Rating: 
Summary: The day we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head
Review: (Apologies to G. K. Chesterton.)I've known about this book a long time, and finally I've read it. It's the bible of the 'indirect approach': how to get the better of your enemy by heading purposefully in the opposite direction, and never, ever engaging his main force. After the horrors of the First World War, when the Western Allies engaged the enemy's main force for four solid years (one and a bit solid years for some) and didn't like it, this came as welcome news, and it made Liddell Hart's reputation as a military thinker. A plausible case can be made for it: think of Sherman sweeping from hell to Dixie in 1864, or Patton (almost) running rings round the Germans in 1944. Spoilsports, on the other hand, including the theorist of mechanized warfare, Gen. J. F. C. Fuller, call it the strategy of evasion. They say that Sherman, Patton & Co. were only able to stay in business because other poor saps were beating their heads against, guess what, the enemy's main force. Spare a thought, please, for Grant's boys 'fixing' Lee in Northern Virginia, the Russians tying down most of the German army in Belarus and Poland. On with the story. In the Second Punic War, Hannibal, the undisputed champ of Punic perfidy (he outsmarted Romans!), had been ravaging Italy for a decade. P. Cornelius Scipio, brilliant and precocious young Roman contender, having read his Liddell Hart, opted to head for Spain, then North Africa via Sicily, finally knocking out Hannibal and his scratch force outside Carthage in 202 BC. He beat Hannibal and saved Rome; he qualifies as a Great Captain. Most people who have read ancient history will know the outline. What I hadn't realized was just how remarkable Scipio was as a strategist, tactician, planner, diplomat and all-round achiever. Liddell Hart makes a strong case for his hero. I'm half persuaded that Scipio was 'greater than Napoleon', greater than Caesar and Alexander too, bearing in mind that these captains had more or less a free hand, while Scipio, as a loyal servant of the Republic, had to put up with suspicion and obstruction from his own government. He seems to have been an honorable fellow, too, which is more than you can say (oh dear) for some of the others. Just think, Roman emperors for seven centuries might have been called 'Scipios'; and instead of Kaiser Bill we'd have had Skippy Bill. If you like the less-traveled roads of history and you don't mind Ciceronian prose, this book is for you. Equip yourself with a good historical atlas, though, because the maps are substandard. As for the strategy of indirect approach - who knows? Maybe we should hold the forthcoming invasion of Iraq in Syria, if only we can persuade the Iranians to attack Baghdad ...
Rating:
Summary: A Great General & A Cumbersome Author.
Review: A good book in that it gives justice to a personality who has been unfairly neglected.Liddell-Hart narrates in a pompous,lofty manner the enviable achievements of this talented & very fortunate,if not so original general who saved republican Rome from her greatest adversary & Scipio's martial benefactor.As I mentioned in my first review of this book,I strongly recommend readers to read other books on the other generals that the author endlessly undermines,to see the amateurish way Liddell-Hart places his subject on the highest throne without a seat.
Rating:
Summary: Scipio wins at Zama!
Review: A greater than Napoleon? Probably not. But pretty darn good? That much is for certain. Hart writes a gripping biography of a truly remarkable personage. One of the more noteworthy characteristics of this book lies in its detail. We are given an honest picture of Scipio, as well as his family's military heritage & dedication to Rome. It would appear that he was quite a humanitarian for his day & age. The book also illustrates some of the mind-boggling stupid politics that could interfere with a great general's resolve even way back then. One thing I did not realize before reading Hart's book was that Scipio himself fought as a junior officer at Cannae. He was one of the precious few Roman soldiers to escape the wrath of Hannibal that day. Lucky for Rome he did.... This is a great book & a must read for any military historian or classical scholar. I would suggest that people read in conjunction with this work Theodore Ayrault Dodge's biography on Hannibal for the "other side" of this conflict. Although Dodge & Hart disagree on several key points, it is still useful to get a view of the story from an alternative angle. Also, for those who enjoy reading about Scipio half as much as I did, I recommend the sections on Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus from Plutarch's "Lives." They were the grandsons of Scipio. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Complete Captain
Review: B.H. Liddell Hart offers a very insightful look at arguably one of the greatest leaders of all time. Publius Cornelius Scipio was granted the title of Africanus by Rome for his defeat of Hannibal on the field of Zama and the resulting victory over Carthage in the second punic war. Scipio undoubtedly possessed incredible insight on the field of battle yet it is his understanding of diplomacy that demands our attention. Liddell Hart demonstrates this aspect of Scipio's character very well and how it produced in him a wonderful mixture of ferocity and mercy in his dealings with his adversaries and allies. Scipio, unlike so many other great captains understood that open violence is just one of the means to a more perfect peace. Machiavelli criticized this facet of his personality as being weakness yet it is exactly this cunning moderation that sped Scipio to attain the ultimate victory. Aspiring leaders would do well to sit under his capable tutelage. I highly recommend this very readable book to any military or roman historian no matter how learned. Liddell Hart sheds much light on a man that is traditionally overshadowed by the colossus Hannibal. The greatness of Hannibal is undeniable yet it was Scipio not he who stood at the gates of the cowering enemy recieving their surrender. Victory is the ultimate display of greatness and for this accomplishment Scipio's memory should live on.
Rating:
Summary: Should be Required Reading for World History Classes
Review: B.H. Liddell Hart will likely become overlooked as one of the most prophetic and intriuging historians in recent history. I have read many of his books over 15 years ago, however, I had forgotten how emminently readible his writing is. Hart makes an astounding case for one of the most underrated leaders in Western history. Very few people don't know who Hannibal is, however, almost nobody knows who defeated him. Scipio Africanus is the ultimate example of a brilliant general both on the field and off, in war and diplomacy. An individual whose brilliance was only tempered by his humility and sense of duty. A perfect example of how the truly great leaders are often the least known. Individuals whose actions shift the very path of history and destiny of nations yet remain largely behind the scenes and forgotten by popular textbooks.
Liddell Hart puts us in the tents with Scipio as he constantly outmanuvers he enemies (foreign and domestic) by contstantly redefining the playing field. Rather than marching directly against Hannibal to save Rome, Scipio invades Spain and threatens Hannibal's supply thus forcing a retreat. This is but a small sample of the brilliant mind who truly 'thought outside the box' - whose manner of thinking and handling issues remains a rarity even in our time. Scipio serves as a great teacher to all who should learn the 'lessons of history' as Hart makes note of repeatedly. Had the architects of the Treaty of Versailles read and understood this book, WWII would not have happened. Scipio is the originator of the doctrine 'economy of force' and a role model for 'bloodless victories'. Clearly, at the time this book was written (1926), Hart had already forseen the drastic changes the next generation of warfare would take (such as the mobility of force as Erwin Rommel demonstrated repeatedly to the British) and the shortcomings of the doctrine of that day. This book should be required reading for World History classes not only for it's historical value; Could Rome have ever risen to be a World power had it not been for Scipio? Without a Rome, where would Europe be today? But also for it's overall lessons to leaders of any kind: Never fight the same battle as your enemy is fighting, defeat him on your terms, not his. Demonstrate generousity to your enemies after you have vanquished them if you don't want to fight them again.
Without hesitation, Hart makes an excellent case for Scipio being a greater (certainly humbler) leader than Napoleon in a very readible fashion.
Rating:
Summary: One hell of a read.
Review: Basil Henry Liddell-Hart is rightly acknowledged as one of the best military theorists, period. He was the man who inspired the likes of Patton and Guderian to their feats in World War II. His book about Scipio Africanus was written before his theories (snorted at by more conservative commanders) were proven in the field. Beyond that, Liddell-Hart tackled an obscure subject: the man that defeated Hannibal, who menaced Rome for many a long year, and established Rome as the pre-eminent classical power of the time. Liddell-Hart's style is easy to read, and the book is a breeze to read. If Liddell-Hart is perhaps more of a military theorist than a historian (though the two are hard to seperate) the book doesn't suffer from the distinction. Perhaps the greatest bit of insight gleaned from this book is Liddell-Hart's applause of the way Scipio Africanus pursued war to engineer a better peace. This theme appears and reappears through the book, and it is a shame the book isn't so widely read among policymaking circles. Certainly, he draws comparisons to his own bitter experience in World War I and prophecizes the breakdown of Versailles in this book. This is a good read, as all the books by this author have been for me.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant invention of the indirect approach.
Review: Captain Liddell-Hart is the first military historian to describe the use of the indirect approach in warfare. Scipio Africanus invented it. Hannibal had superior numbers and over 80 elephants against Scipio's foot soldiers and calvary. Yet he defeated Hannibal and saved the Roman Empire. This book and "Strategy" by Liddell-Hart should be required reading for any soldier
Rating:
Summary: Very Underated Military Leader
Review: Drawing on the extant ancient histories told by the Roman, Livy, and Polybius the Greek, Hart makes a compelling argument for Scipio's greatness as both a military leader and a compassionate human being. Hart succesfully rebuts many historian's underated view of Scipio's abilties and convincingly esablishes him as one of the greater if not greatest military leaders of the western world.
Rating:
Summary: Hannibal Lost, But We Forget the Victor.....
Review: Hannibal's feat in crossing the Alps with his elephants and Africans will never again be replicated in actual war. He was a spectacular failure. There is something in all of us that lionizes the underdog, the loser, the man or woman who flies in the face of conventional wisdom. But in Scipio's case why do we not commemorate his victory? Liddel-Hart makes the case for Scipio's greatness. His nobility of spirit suffuses the pages. I'd think that a man as gifted, generous, and thoughtful as Scipio would be someone we could emulate. Scipio saved Rome from a defeat that may have profoundly affected the course of world history, yet he was treated like refuse by the ruling party in Rome. One would think that we'd identify with the heroic outsider, but I guess the cornicen hasn't been blown enough for Publius Cornelius Scipio africanus, a man for all seasons.
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