Warfare in the Classical World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in the Ancient Civilisations of Greece and Rome

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite book, but the Roman section is disappointing
Review: This truly is a marvelous book and provides a wonderful introduction to warfare in the classical world. The only issue I had with the book was the scant details on warfare during the Roman Empire itself. The Greece section -- from Homeric times to Alexander the Great and his successors -- comprises half the book's pages, and then the Roman Republic section -- from Pyrrhus to the beginning of Octavian/Augustus rule -- comprises about 80 pages. This leaves only 15 pages for the Empire itself, about 400 years of history, and the section scarcely went into any detail whatsoever. I'm not sure why the author chose largely to ignore this critical part of Roman history; perhaps he thought there was enough information out there already.

This one problem aside, the book is simply marvelous, and as long as you don't mind the author breezing over Imperial Rome, it's a must-buy. The Alexander the Great section in particular is spectacular.