Uncovering the History of Dr. Hannibal Lecter: An In-Depth Look at the Infamous Serial Killer

Amazon Customer: The book was more in "like new" condition than just "good" as advertised. Cost was very reasonable. Very happy with purchase - Nelson.

United States on Nov 24, 2023

Carroll Martin: I just received my book on Hannibal Barca from the Cambridge Glen Bookstore. It arrived in excellent condition! Almost too perfect to read. Along with the book came a note from the proprietor. That was such an excellent touch that it will cause me to purchase books from Cambridge Glen again and again. I strongly recommend them!!!

United States on Apr 10, 2023

Steven M. Anthony: I read a lot of biographies. I think many times, history is best learned and understood through studying the people that make it.

This biography of the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca is a pretty substandard effort, all things considered. Writing biographies of ancient personages is a tricky business. Sometimes there is very little source material. In others, what source material exists cannot be certified as accurate. That is certainly the case here, where the sources many times conflict markedly. The two primary sources, Livy and Polybius wrote many years after the events and were naturally biased in their allegiances. Many times, their accounts are widely divergent.

Perhaps more bothersome is the extremely informal writing style practiced by the author. At times, this biography reads like a high school book report. Another problem with the book, and one that I find frequently, is a paucity of maps, which could have assisted in following the action. There are three maps, which set out three important battles (which is pretty much guesswork). After that, there are dozens of pages describing troop movements full of place names and...

United States on Jun 10, 2021

Rex Giacomo GuiananRex Giacomo Guianan: I just started reading the book and I can say its the best written book regarding Hannibal and his exploits against Rome. And I got it for $5.00 so I'm very happy.

Australia on Jun 10, 2020

Psych Buff: Hunt has one of the better books on Hannibal I've read - even if he isn't aware or ignores that Hannibal had no last name. Phoenicians (and the Carthaginians) had no last names. They used descriptors. His descriptor is missing from history. Bet it was a beaut though!

Canada on Nov 25, 2019

AL: This book is a very strong biography of Hannibal’s life and times. It is easy to read and clearly written. It focuses on both his life and the lives of those around him - though mostly his enemies and a few of his fellow generals. However, I found it focused more on his movements and battles, which were clearly articulated, and less on the man himself. Would have liked more on his lifestyle, his family and relationships around him. For example, the book does not explore his other generals or comrades except for out,inning their positions in battle. Also, the book could have benefitted from more detailed maps for some of his Italian movements and battles.

Overall a very good read to understand Hannibal and his exploits in Europe.

United States on Oct 25, 2018

Manhar: A very interesting book on Hannibal Barca, the great Carthaginian General of antiquity, most famous for crossing the Alps with his war elephants and taking the battle to the gates of Rome. Hannibal defeated successive Roman armies dispatched against him by employing superior tactics along with skillfully use of terrain and weather. The ‘Double Envelopment’ was his signature maneuver. After the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE, recognizing his brilliance on the battlefield, Rome adopted the ‘Fabian Strategy’ of avoiding direct engagements with Hannibal while raising fresh legions against him. However, Carthage simply did not have the resources to wage a protracted war against Rome. Hannibal was finally defeated at Zama by Scipio Africanus, a Roman General of equal brilliance.

The author is an authority on Hannibal having visited various battlefields/ sites associated with the campaign’s of Hannibal as well as having investigated a number of Alpine passes to determine the exact route taken by Hannibal to cross into Italy. In addition to his own investigations, he has drawn on the works of Roman historians Polybius and Livy to stitch together this...

India on May 24, 2018

Anonymous: This revealed substantial gaps in my knowledge of history. After struggling in some initial chapters I found I could hardly put it down once the battle sequences started.

United Kingdom on Feb 25, 2018

David Lang: As Patrick Hunt tells us in the preface to this engaging work, he has spent much of his life researching the enigma that is Hannibal Barca. Now this overriding interest has led Hunt to write a very informative, wide-ranging biography of the famous general.

This is a book that makes clear why Hannibal is rightfully considered one of the greatest military figures in history, but it is also a well-balanced volume that avoids hagiography. And while it will certainly please an academic audience, the book is free of academic dryness, avoiding jargon and handling complex concepts in a readable manner. It manages to be suspenseful even when one is already familiar with the events of the general’s life—and that is no easy trick.

Hunt is quite skillful in weaving together the various factors that shaped Hannibal’s success and failure, including the startling brilliance of his military mind, the influence of his father, and the political environment of Carthage with its dubious support of the general’s efforts. Hunt is very solid at explaining the faulty tactics—and later brilliance—of the Romans (especially seen in Fabius Maximus and Scipio...

United States on Jul 19, 2017