Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional book about an extraordinary man
Review: Hart's book cries out that Scipio Africanus needs to named among the great captains of history. I felt that his arguement was well made. Being a student of military history my only regret was not discovering this book sooner!

Rating:
Summary: Scipio - Outstanding & Underated
Review: Hart's book makes a strong case for the consideration of Scipio Africanus Major as one of the truly great military commanders of history. I have spent a great deal of time reading ancient and military history and have always been annoyed at the lack of information about this historical figure. Plutarch, argueably the greatest biographer ever, when writing his 'Lives' (a comparison of noble greeks and romans) intentionally omitted a description of Scipio and his greek counterpart Epaminondas because he felt they were the supreme examples of their respective societies. When I was fortunate enough to find this title on Amazon, I bought it no questions asked. This book would be a bargain at twice the price. Hart does an excellent job of presenting Scipio's military career and specific engagements in detailed and entertaining fashion. The material will appeal to both the beginning and hardcore military history buff alike. His descriptions of specific tactics as well as examples of Scipio's personal integrity are thoroughlly entertaining. Machiavelli in his classic 'The Prince' described how Scipio attempted to emulate and imitate Cyrus ("the great" - ancient Persian commander). I believe, that Hart has made the case to consider Scipio as greater than not only Napoleon, but Cyrus, Alexander or Ceasar.

Rating:
Summary: Great work
Review: I do not give 5 star ratings on much of anything that I review, this was an exception. I had barely heard of this great general before and now I know much more about him. That is what a historical book should do, but this one was also a joy to read and went too fast. For every statement about Scipio there is explination and justification. I'm sure he was a much more complicated man than even this book can go into, more's the pity, but a great general he was....possibly the greatest.
A must buy to the military reader and should be required reading for not only historians, and soldiers, but heads of state as well.

Rating:
Summary: A very wonderful book
Review: I found this book hard to put down. I think it's quite astonishing that nobody else has ever written a biography on Scipio Africanus. This book portrays Scipio Africanus as a great general, a better than Napoleon. The other books I recommend for anybody that read this book and liked it to read Hannibal by Theodore Ayrault Dodge.

Rating:
Summary: A Startling Discovery
Review: I happened on to this book in a personal quest to learn more about great captains of war. This is a book you should expect to read several times and savor the author's review (worship?) of Scipio's great generalship. A quick yet comprehensive review of the accomplishments of a somewhat unknown captain of war. Was the author tired of all the Hannibal-worship when he wrote this, possibly. Nevertheless, even an unbiased look at Scipios' campaigns in Spain and Africa lead to the inescapable conclusion that he was one of the best commanders of all time, capped off by defeating Hannibal in their only head-to-head confrontation. His combination of tactical, strategic, diplomatic and political skill is stunning, and shows a sophistication that would be impressive even under current standards. While you can check other great sources for a more balanced analysis (Scullard, Lazenby), the author tells an amazing story of a great leader who played a pivotal role in the growth of the Roman Empire.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring story
Review: I love this book and have reread sections of it since I bought it two years ago. It is inspiring to read about a noble person that definitely had an impact in the shape of our current world.

Rating:
Summary: Scipio Africanus et Amazonus
Review: I read a good deal of military history and ancient Roman history, though I am of the female persuasion. I read every book ever written about Hannibal Barca. I was fascinated with Hannibal until I read this book about his great adversary, Scipio Africanus. Undoubtedly Scipio is the greater man. I would love to know what these two said to each other when they met alone before the Battle of Zama. One pet peeve I have about history books is that they should be interesting. After all what could be more fascinating than the characters and events that shape our culture? B. H. Liddel Hart is an outstanding writer and I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Scipio Africanus et Amazonus
Review: I read a good deal of military history and ancient Roman history, though I am of the female persuasion. I read every book ever written about Hannibal Barca. I was fascinated with Hannibal until I read this book about his great adversary, Scipio Africanus. Undoubtedly Scipio is the greater man. I would love to know what these two said to each other when they met alone before the Battle of Zama. One pet peeve I have about history books is that they should be interesting. After all what could be more fascinating than the characters and events that shape our culture? B. H. Liddel Hart is an outstanding writer and I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Am I reading a different book?
Review: I think that the five-star rating of this book is vastly overstated.

This book has the following positive feature: it gives detailed and favorable treatment to Scipio, who has generally not received the attention and respect that he deserves.

That said, the following aspects of the book were a big turn-off for me:
-this book is simply an exercise in hero-worship, full of phrases such as "Is there any other man in all history..." or "the nobility of a man...who would stoop to take a subordinate position" among many others. It is even more blatant than Dodge's praise of Hannibal, which is saying something;
-the language is oddly phrased and stilted, at least to my 21st Century American ear;
-the book is largely a recital of the facts from Polybius and Livy, overlaid with forced or irrelevant comparisons of Scipio's or Rome's situation to some occurence during World War I, the Franco-Prussian War, etc.

Maybe I'm being overly harsh, but I am a big fan of military history, particularly of Roman period, and I was extremely relieved to finally finish this rather tedious book. Unfortunately, there are few others which dedicate sufficient attention to Scipio, who was certainly a remarkable character.



Rating:
Summary: A great book over a great man
Review: I would recomend this book not only to military or History enthusiasts, but also for everyone interested in great men, byographies... or even everyone with at least a little curiosity. One of the merits of the book is that the author not only descrives Scipio's tactics, but also shows how they would have been useful in others battles of History. The only criticism I have is the lack of maps for certain battles, such as the siege of Cartagena