The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic by Robert L. O'Connell-History, 310 pages
Hannibal spent about 15 years (218-203 b.c.) on his invasion of what is now Italy, during the Second Punic War. He was very successful, fighting on his terms and winning almost every battle. It was only after the Romans learned to stop letting him choose the ground and stopped reacting to his feints, and traps and after they found a master strategist and tactician of their own in Scipio Africanus, that they were able to defeat him. They did on his own turf, as he had on theirs, with Scipio's army beating Hannibal's decisively at the battle of Zama in 202 b.c.
O'Connell does a nice job of giving the personal and cultural backgrounds of the people, places and the times.
Patrick
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