Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: Unheralded Hero Indeed
Review: Though synonomous with the victory of Zama, there is a wealth of information about Scipio Africanus, military, political and social, that has been tragically lost among the annals of history. Better than any other book of which I am aware, Hart's title does a great service in bringing much of this information back into the limelight in a manner that was easily readable and enjoyable, a clear cut and direct approach to an immense topic. Saying that book opened up my eyes to the exploits of one of history's greatest captains would be an understatement, as in fact it thrust my attention upon what is certainly antiquity's and possibly history's finest captain. Scipio's military campaign in Spain, an endeavor clearly captured in this book and described in detail, may be the greatest forgotten campaign in history. Displaying a strategic and tactical sense that seems unrivalled until the days of Napoleon, Scipio won victories with a decisiveness under overwhelming odds and the oppression of a jealous senate that set him high above the military mastery levels of Caesar without a doubt and probably even Hannibal and Alexander as well. However, it is these lesser captains that have been immortalized in history and Scipio that has been forgotten, and Hart's discussion of this reality is one of the most spectacular portions of the book. That chapter alone would be well worth your purchase of this fine selection. The claim of this book holding relevance for even modern military students is also highly justified, as the intellectual ability of Scipio on both a military and, often more importantly, diplomatic level, serves as an example for all future leaders of men. Without a shred of doubt, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, military, government or humanities in general, as the relevance of it cannot be understated, as it unfortunately has been for so many centuries.

Rating:
Summary: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Review: Written in 1929, this biography remains imporant today. Hart was one of the great post-WWI military strategists, and an early advocate of mobile armored warfare. Hart wrote his biography of Scipio largely because he saw Scipio's tactics at Illipa and Zama as a prime example of the kind of mobile, flexible warfare that he himself was advocating. While other Roman generals simply lined up their legions and tried to hack their way through the enemey, Scipio experimented with daring flanking moves and advocated bold tactical manuvers.
Hart has been accused of reading too much innovation into the battle description of Livy and Polybius, but nonetheless this is a top notch military biography of an under-rated captain.
As a political biography, Hart leaves much to be desired. Hart cares little for the oligarchic politics in which Scipio, like all Roman nobles, was deeply embroiled. Hart writes off the persecution of Cato as simple jealosy, ignoring the fact that Scipio's metoric rise to fame, honor and command had a destabilizing effect on the Roman oligarchy. Nonethless, Hart's work remains one of the best biographies of Scipio (H.H. Schullard's biography is also very good). Those military history buffs who care little for classics will still want to read this work, which reveals the thoughts of one of the 20th century's greatest strategist .