It is unfortunate that, despite the fact that some of Polybius's Histories have been lost over time, Penguin made the decision to cut out even more from the text that has luckily survived down to us through the ages. To make matters worse, the introduction doesn't really state clearly what exactly has been cut.

Next time I want to read one of the classics, I'll go immediately to Loeb. It's worth the extra cash. Anyone want my Penguin copy?

Polybius, a Greek hostage held in Rome from 168 BC to 150 BC, set himself the task of explaining the rise of the Roman Empire. Deliberately written for Roman audiences, Polybius intends to describe the 53 year rise to hegemony from 220-167 BC. However Polybius includes considerable background material on the First Punic War and he later decided to extend his history to include the Third Punic War. Unfortunately, much of the original work is missing and Penguin has decided to edit out even more, which leaves a hollow remnant.

The real value of this book lies in Polybius' description of the Second Punic War with Hannibal. There are excellent battle descriptions of the Trebbia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae, the Metaurus and Zama. Remember, Polybius was writing only 60-70 years after these events and had access to many documents that are now lost. Polybius was also able to visit some of the battlefields when they had not changed significantly since Hannibal's time. There is also a good section on Roman military methods, which was enlightening.

However this book is disappointing in a number of areas. In terms of the original work, Polybius tends to digress on topics of interest to himself (but not to modern readers), such as criticizing other contemporary historians. He also has a strong pedantic streak and strives more to impart "lessons" than facts. He continually hammers home his theory that one cannot be a good historian unless one has walked the ground and gained personal military and political experiences. This certainly helps, but there are plenty of generals and politicians that make poor authors. Yet the greatest disappointment lies in the lack of any detail on the Third Punic War and the dramatic defeat of the Greek phalanx by Roman legions at Cynocephalae. Since Polybius was a witness at the destruction of Carthage, I eagerly anticipated this chapter only to find it instead to be a very short three page section with only general comments.

Amazingly, the period with the greatest detail is the Second Punic War, when Polybius was not alive. The Third Punic War and the Siege of Numantia in Spain, both of which Polybius observed directly, are excluded. This reduced the value of this volume tremendously.

Many other reviewers on this site lament all that has been cut from this translation. The decision, of course, was not entirely up to Penguin. A great portion of Polybius' work has been lost to the ravages of history. Other surviving portions are quite boring. As someone with an interest in the history but not a consuming scholarly passion, I found the selections well-chosen and fascinating; the translation readable. What more can you ask?

If you want all of the Polybius that remains, consult a scholarly edition, preferably the original Greek. F.W. Walbank's long-winded introduction told me much more than I ever needed to know about this second-tier historian. What makes Polybius valuable is that he actually played a part in some of the events he described and seems to have prized first-hand sources, interviewing people involved and consulting contemporary documents, especially in the Roman Senate. As a Greek who had spent time in Rome, he wrote the history primarily for his fellow Greeks, to explain how a nothing civilization (Rome) on the edge of the Hellenistic World rose to power so quickly.

The account of Rome's Wars with Carthage is very even-handed and compelling. In the other history, his Greek prejudices often show through. Especially when he is talking about rival historians like Timaeus. He devotes a whole chapter, in fact, to insulting Timaeus. The chapter shows you something of Polybius' character that he would stop his history of the world to engage in academic fisticuffs.

This book functions well as an explanation of Rome to a non-Roman. I learned a great deal about the character of Rome and the Romans as well as all the Hellenistic kingdoms. At 541 pages, no one can accuse this of being a reader's digest version. The appendix includes nice maps and all the sections are labeled so that one can easily flip through and find the portion in the chapter "Affairs in Greece" on "The Character of Philip." I guess what you have to ask yourself is whether you are already an expert on the history of the Mediterranean World from 200 to 146 BCE. If so, you are probably beyond Penguin editions like this one.