Formidable history of Carthage

Fantastic account of Carthage's rise and fall by Miles, especially considering the paucity of written Punic sources. Let down slightly by strange mispronounciations by narrator and, weirdly, mistaken date transliteration. But definitely worth your time.

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Outstanding

An outstanding telling of the history of Carthage. Brilliantly narrated, as ever, by Mr Gardner. Highly recommended.

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A sweeping history

A brilliant intro into the history of Carthage and its relationship to Rome. The last chapter is 10/10 and leads you into thinking about Carthages lasting prestige throughout the rest of antiquity !

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Good book, horrific pronunciation

Interesting story of Carthage and its origins. The voice artist has some horrific and glaring mispronounciations.

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3 people found this helpful

Good solid account

I enjoyed listening to this account of one of the lesser-known civilisations on the ancient world. Naturally the Punic Wars are better known, as is Hannibal's trip across the Alps, but this history covers the whole of Carthage's history, which puts those events into their proper context. The book is well written and covers all aspects of Carthage and her world - not just the fights with Rome. Of course evidence is scarce, but the story that emerges is interesting and well told.

The narrator reads the text well, and if not the greatest reading in the world then it is certainly plenty good enough and I found it easy to listen to. If you have an interest in Carthage or Republican Rome then this book is recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

What a great book

Always wanted to know the history of the Punic wars and this book didn’t let me down , great narration and story thank you 👍

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History by the victors

The book covers the whole history of Carthage from it's foundation to it's destruction.  All the major events are covered, but if you want a more comprehensive account of the Punic wars and Hannibal, you will find better books on the market.  I like the accounts of lesser know events such as the battle for Sicily  with the Greeks, and the Mercenary Wars.    The problem for any history of Carthage is that virtually all the sources are Roman or Greek, which are hostile, and getting a deep understand of how the Carthaginian thought and operated are difficult. The author discusses the problem of the bias in source material, which I'm a fan of.

As a scholar the author looks to emphasis the  role of the divine in motivating ancient peoples, not just the political and economic.  Heracles is constantly referred to as the ideal template for a conquering hero, but some of the subtles of how this related to the actions of the ancients was lost on me at times.

This history has both depth and is accessible, and I loved the final lines that said that when the Romans needed to be reminded how great they were they thought of the Punic Wars.

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3 people found this helpful

Carthago delenda est

This is a fabulous book and a fantastic story. It is a version of the other side. Too often we only here about Rome and Hannibal. There is a whole lot more. The move from the Levant, the overriding economic reasons and the battles of Sicily as well as Spain shows what a close run thing this was! How different would the world have looked if "African" Carthage had won.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting topic, bad narration

So the topic and the information is very good. Everything flows quite well, with lots of information about the Phoenicians and the foundation of Carthage, all through the lens of the syncretic cultures and religions of the Mediterranean. When the book deals with culture, it's at its strongest, especially when dealing with Greek and Roman propaganda directed at the Phoenicians and Carthaginians.

What drags it down is the uninspiring copy/paste of Livy and Polybius when covering the Second Punic War. I would have loved to have heard even more about the sources, even though it is covered relatively well.

The real issue is the narrator. He is God-awful. His voice is unengaging and flat. A pet peeve is his pronounciation. Ihave extremely rarely heard Scipio pronounced "Sippy-oh." His general lack of knowledge when it comes to the pronunciation of famous people and places from antiquity is astounding.

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1 person found this helpful

poor narrator

clearly a very extensive book and informtion, let down by a very poor narrator

I also feel the title does not match the content of the book so well, many will be drawn to is based upon the roman/carthage wars, but there is also a huge amount of pre history to get through first.

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4 people found this helpful