I don't think of myself as much different from most people who grew up in the United States, going through grade school with a modest understanding of our nation's history. From Columbus up until the present day, we were presented with an abbreviated history highlighted with sidebars that would occasionally delve deeper into the subject matter. My knowledge of Christopher Columbus was basically limited to the fact that he was Italian, had gone to Spain and convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance his voyage to Asia, which he felt he could reach by heading west, and that he had made four voyages of discovery. After listening to this fascinating book-on-tape by Ernle Bradford, I learned not only about how tough it was...years of hard work...just to get Ferdinand and Isabella's support, but about the intrigue and drama that resulted in the later voyages. The experiences of these four distinctly different trips, including the dangers and life-threatening challenges that make the work of today's thrill-seekers pale in comparison, are vividly drawn in an engrossing story that makes me feel an admiration for this man I could not have expected. Let the judgement of today's political scientists be what it may regarding the destruction of the indigenous people and the resulting chaos that became the New World. For me, "Christopher Columbus" is an engrossing story of a man who braved incredible dangers to rally support for his mission and his religion, managed to nurture relationships of both royalty and ordinary seamen in his efforts to achieve success, faced mutinous challenges by greedy counterparts, and sadly, never lived to know the scope of his discovery.

A great selection for anyone interested in an overview of the Crusades or the Middle Ages generally. Bradford does not offer much detail on battle tactics or strategy, but does convey quite vividly the personalities of the key participants, their political, religious, and personal conflicts, and the cultural landscape of the period. Most interesting to me was Bradford's ability to trace important aspects of modern Western culture back to their roots in the Crusades.

This is a fast read. It flows nicely with good illustration. The combat between Doria and our Khayr ad-din was very tense almost in a dramatic sense instead of a history book or even a biography. Well done by the author.

On another note. It seems to vary from the memoirs of Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha (at this point not yet available in English). It is time a new book on the greatest sea captain of the age was written.

This book starts at the beginning and traces the roots of the family and the development of piracy in the Mediterranean. It is well written and fast paced. It is researched and documented well with many references to original sources. A good read.

This biography made me wish to meet the famous Hannibal. The research is well done and now I have a good understanding of the role Hannibal played in this period of history. The only reason I gave this book a 4 is because it was a little on the dry side. That may be due to the reader's voice as I listened to the cassette, or because there just wasn't enough "heart and soul" in the telling of the history. That is, I learned tons about Hannibal's military movements, strategies, battles, etc., but a very minute amount about his character and feelings. This is probably not the author's fault, however, because he refers to the ancient sources as not passing down much about Hannibal's character for us to draw from.

It wasn't until the last chapter or two that I felt I was starting to get to know Hannibal as a man, with references about his wit, humor, and his sly ability to sneak away unnoticed as he was hounded by the Romans. At the end, we are treated to a few of his quotes which give us a little glimpse into his personality. At that point I began wishing I knew more about him, felt a certain empathy with him, and wondered if by the end of his life, he felt he had thrown it away in a useless cause. The author reflects on this a bit, and concludes that even if Hannibal and Carthage had won this war against the Romans, it really wouldn't have changed history that much, rather it would only have slowed the Romans down for a little while. I agreed with that conclusion, and not only felt sorry for Hannibal, but sorry for the human mind that causes us to slaughter one another for .... what?

In spite of the occasional dryness of the telling, I was fascinated by the information presented about Hannibal's career and the political and military setting of the nations involved. I appreciate having this knowledge.

Hannibal by Ernle Bradford is a fine and enjoyable read about the history of the Second Punic War, with a principal focus on Hannibal's invasion of Italy and the subsequent 17 year occupation. It is obvious that the author is an admirer of Hannibal, and a grudging admirer of Rome. In some ways Hannibal is treated as a almost mythic character who not only was a military genius but attempted to fight a noble war. The Romans, on the other hand, are portrayed as devious, untrustworthy with their only saving graces being their perseverance and ability to eventually adapt to the superior abilities of Hannibal.

The book greatest failures lie in the descriptions of the major battles, especially Cannae. One of the greatest military feats of history is dealt with in a few pages. While Bradford does describe the basics of the battle, he does so in a very perfunctory manner. The same is true for the other major engagements. Further, the almost total lack of maps makes the battles and the troop movements difficult to follow.

The strength of the book is in the description of how the Romans eventually prevailed and Hannibal's miscalculations of the Roman persistence. After the destruction of up to 70,000 troops at Cannae, and numerous legions prior to the battle, most empires would have crumbled. Rome did not. The reasons for Rome's survival is the best reason to read this book.

Nice book. Well written, based on good sources, and about one of the most exciting historical figures of all times. Even long after his death, one cannot underestimate Hannibal. Hannibal should have been one of the characters in the 1988 film "Bill and Teds Excellent Adventures."

i cant believe i am the first - were i not i may not have bothered - but this is arguably a great book so i must, and am told, regarded as a classic my yachties in the med

this man is scorned by historians (does dorky things like quote encyclopaedias?) & his style can be amateurish, but hey - rarely dull

great choice of subject - a/ the med is the hub of most history & b/ the bridge between east & west so he can wander off in either direction - whatever is interesting - his passion tho is naval technology - which is fine as it was the determiner of power.

so - read all about it - the suez canal of 500bc, the phoenicians rounding the cape of good hope in 500bc, the greatest scammer of all time - the doge of venice at 80 (he went along) conned the crusaders into sacking a fellow christian city - the greatest prize ever - constantinople - for a few crumbs - and got a nice bribe from the mayor of alexandria as well for diverting them from this original target

A reader curious about Paul would be unlikely to find a better guide to the places and cultural forces that formed his life. The book begins with descriptions of man, ship, and ports, an almost journalistic reporting of the transport of a man to Rome for trial -- "a man of consequence", treated with deference by his guards, middle-aged, educated,"a Levantine -- possibly a Jew." The author then describes, quoting occasionally from ancient historians, the city of his birth, Tarsus, typical familial life of one of his community (Pharisees), his probable education in Jerusalem, and extensive detail on the political and decadent social millieu of this Roman era. The author peppers the story of Paul with facts of the lives and foibles of other influential personalities of the period, including the Caesars and the scholars who tutored them. Gives one a very real sense of the small world of the new Christian sect, within the small world of Judea and Jewish culture, overwhelmed by the forces of the Roman Empire at the height of it's power and corruption. After the initial flashback the author hypothesyzes Paul's travels and missionary/revolutionary work with a continuation of detail, rich with knowledge of the places and cultures visited.

From its birth in the first Crusade, through the possession of the isle of Rhodes to its lost of the island against the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent, to making a home on Malta; the great siege of Malta by Suleiman again, Mr Bradford is able to make well researched material interesting. After Malta, the Knights were on top, how they dropped to the bottom as they lost Malta to Napoleon, were they are now in the world as a humanitarian organization.
If you have any interest in this subject, this is a good book. It could have used a few more maps (I read the 1973 hard back version), and three times it seemed the author was taking sides with the Knights on some minor old debate. His book "The Great Siege; Malta 1565" is an excellent book.

If you enjoyed Ernle Bradford's classic, "Great Siege: Malta 1565", I recommend "The Shield and the Sword" (1974) as a supplement. A complete history of the Knights of St. John from the order's founding in Jerusalem to the present, Mr. Bradford's book is impeccably well-written and researched in five languages. And like "Great Siege", it is grippingly told. Not stopping at the siege of Malta, Bradford briefly relates how, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Order evolved into an honorary society for Catholic nobility. Finally, we learn how the Knights -- who still exist and are based on Malta -- became a respected humanitarian organization. More in touch with its original purpose as a hospitaller order, the Knights of St. John now fights indomitably for peace around the globe and even includes women.

I have two quarrels with the book, though. First of all, I would have enjoyed reading more about the daily life of the Knights. As it is, Bradford focuses overwhelmingly on military history. Of more significance, though, Bradford gets too close to his subject...This is a one-sided view...Otherwise, a good read. 4 stars.