Hannibal: One Man Against Rome

Hannibal: One Man Against Rome
by Harold Lamb
Published in 1958
276 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 3/5


This history of Hannibal is beautifully written but lacks any sources whatsoever. Like many purely narrative histories, there is no discussion of sources whatsoever, and thus takes many historical ambiguities as fact.


The writing was fairly clear, and highly descriptive, and I liked the slightly “Gibbon-esque” vibes that the author is trying to capture. I thought, however, that the author didn’t give enough historical context to properly explain what was happening. What is a Ligurian? Why did they come out of nowhere? What do historians know about them?


This is fairly problematic with many older histories, and it is inexcusable for histories written in the latter half of the 20th century. Although this book was by no means a bad book, and was well written, I don’t recommend this book.