I finally got a chance to finish reading this book, which had been in my part way done pile for about a month. Not because it wasn't interesting, but just because its been a busy end/ start to the new year.
The problem with most books detailing Carthage and Rome, is that most of the history we have of the period was written by Romans following the destruction of the once mighty city state. Miles attempts to delve into a period of history before the Punic Wars, and show how Carthage had influenced the Mediterranean for generations before. Its very well researched, with almost 150 pages of notes and references, and it reads fairly easily. The book traces the founding of the Dido of Tyre, as a port to facilitate trade with other Phoenician states to the last days of the city as Scipio Aemilianus laid waste to it. The book does I think slog a bit during the overview of the Punic Wars, but not because its poorly written. There is just far too much emphasis on the Roman point of view, with long discussions of Roman fears and thoughts. It would have been more interesting to have more information from Hannibal interspersed (Although the section on the propaganda war waged by him was very good). Barcid Spain is also glossed over a bit, which would have been interesting to get details of like the book had earlier done with the Carthaginian cities of Sicily.
The book overall is quite good, even if it comes back to Rome in the end. I enjoyed the read and learned quite a bit, and the extensive notes list certainly gives an avenue for other literature that might be interesting to read now.
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