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Hannibal: Rome’s Greatest Enemy Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Philip Freeman (Author), John Lescault (Narrator), Blackstone Publishing (Publisher)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 131 ratings
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Telling the story of a man who stood against the overwhelming power of the mighty Roman empire, Hannibal is the biography of a man who, against all odds, dared to change the course of history.

More than 2,000 years ago one of the greatest military leaders in history almost destroyed Rome. Hannibal, a daring African general from the city of Carthage, led an army of warriors and battle elephants over the snowy Alps to invade the very heart of Rome's growing empire. But what kind of person would dare to face the most relentless imperial power of the ancient world? How could Hannibal, consistently outnumbered and always deep in enemy territory, win battle after battle until he held the very fate of Rome within his grasp?

Hannibal appeals to many as the ultimate underdog - a Carthaginian David against the Goliath of Rome - but it wasn't just his genius on the battlefield that set him apart. As a boy and then a man, his self-discipline and determination were legendary. As a military leader, like Alexander the Great before him and Julius Caesar after, he understood the hearts of men and had an uncanny ability to read the unseen weaknesses of his enemy. As a commander in war, Hannibal has few equals in history and has long been held as a model of strategic and tactical genius. But Hannibal was much more than just a great general. He was a practiced statesman, a skilled diplomat, and a man deeply devoted to his family and country.

Roman historians - on whom we rely for almost all our information on Hannibal - portray him as a cruel barbarian, but how does the story change if we look at Hannibal from the Carthaginian point of view? Can we search beneath the accounts of Roman writers who were eager to portray Hannibal as a monster and find a more human figure? Can we use the life of Hannibal to look at the Romans themselves in an unfamiliar way - not as the noble and benign defenders of civilization, but as ruthless conquerors motivated by greed and conquest?

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  1. Listening Length
    5 hours and 29 minutes
  2. Author
    Philip Freeman
  3. Narrator
    John Lescault
  4. Audible release date
    March 1, 2022
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Blackstone Publishing
  7. ASIN
    B09PSVYRFY
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 5 hours and 29 minutes
Author Philip Freeman
Narrator John Lescault
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 01, 2022
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B09PSVYRFY
Best Sellers Rank #23,241 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#6 in Ancient Military History (Audible Books & Originals)
#8 in North Africa History
#11 in African History (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
131 global ratings

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A short, fast paced history of "Rome Greatest Enemy"
2 out of 5 stars
A short, fast paced history of "Rome Greatest Enemy"
This is a breezy, fast paced account of Hannibal's battles against Rome and a useful primer for the history of the period. The author provides a useful non Roman context for the battles. The account itself is setup and executed well, but it is hard to get past the various grammatical and spelling mistakes throughout the book, completely ruining the cohesiveness of the narrative. I only started keeping track after I saw more than a few crop up in the first 50 pages or so and was astonished by the level and frequency of the errors. While a few might be excusable , but mistakes that MS Word would've fixed slipping through is inexplicable. Makes me wonder if it was even proof-read at all, much less edited, throwing the entire account's reliability into question. While the general story is well known and not really subject to much dispute, it does tarnish the book on many levels.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Ruben
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    One of the most entertaining history books I’ve read. This is one of those books you just fly though.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Michael Walter
    4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
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    I read a poem recently about Hannibal and I had to admit while I recognized the name I didn’t know anything about him (musta slept through that Western Civ class). So I found this biography and downloaded it to my kindle. Very glad I did. It was a concise and easy to read history of one of the greatest military minds ever. Hannibal went up against the big bad Romans and while he didn’t defeat them, he did way more damage than anyone would till Rome was teetering and the Huns invaded (or was it the Goths? Another Western Civ class I skipped).
    One person found this helpful
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  • Josh Hinman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Account on Rome's Greatest Foe
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Philip Freeman gives an excellent account into one of the most fascinating people in history. I didnt know much about Hannibal as we didnt learn about him growing up, but man was he a pain in the a** for the Romans!! Can't recommend enough if you're a fan of Roman history and that time period. Also, enjoyed the section on what would have happened if Hannibal had succeeded in capturing Rome. Really puts into perspective the impact of the Roman Empire. Definitely check out his other works on Julius Caeser and Alexander if you enjoyed this one.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Isaac aldrete
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024
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    Good
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  • Bill A
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book is worth buying. Could not put it down. Never knew much from this Era.
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars The cover
    Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2023
    The cover portray that Hannibal wasn’t BLACK 🤔🤣🤦🏾‍♂️
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  • Simon
    4.0 out of 5 stars "Hannibal is at the gates."
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
    Hannibal: Rome’s Greatest Enemy by Philip Freeman is a quick and informative read on how ancient Rome was almost toppled by an African general against all odds. If you’ve read ancient civilization, especially on the Romans, you’ve likely heard the phrase “Carthage must be destroyed!”. The man who started it all was none other than Hannibal. This was one of my first attempt at getting an in-depth look at one of the greatest military strategist of ancient times. When it comes to the spotlight on some of the greatest military minds during those times, most casual readers and history fans such as myself no doubt will look towards the usual suspects of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. However, woe behold those who choose to skip over Hannibal. Philip Freeman as always does an incredible job of writing history that can be picked up and read by the most casual of readers and actually enjoying it. I’ve actually read his works on both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. With Hannibal, I knew I could do no wrong sticking with the same author.

    Hannibal was the best teacher of war that Rome ever had. He also became a terror that lived in their nightmares. - Philip Freeman

    If memory serves me correct, Rome had been literally sacked multiple times throughout their history. However, they were during the later days when they were weakened as an empire and already crumbling. With Hannibal, it was during the earlier times when Rome was at their greatest in strength. He literally was the Roman’s boogeyman. The story and telling of this mighty general from Carthage gives us the juicy details of his incredible quest to defeat an empire that pretty much did all the bullying and conquering themselves. The information presented here, as likely as many other books on Hannibal himself and his adventures, is drawn from two primary ancient sources: Polybius and Livy. The problem is that their account is likely not the most accurate. However, it is what all modern historians and authors have to work with.

    Rome did not forgive and it never forgot. - Philip Freeman

    While I’ll admit that I’ll not likely read another Hannibal history book due to the limited sources of information, I’m glad to have selected this one as my first and only introduction to this fascinating time period. While everyone is aware or at least have a general sense of how mighty the Romans were during ancient times, they were not invincible. Their weaknesses were exploited by Hannibal and, being the cerebral assassin that he is, it’s no wonder how he was able to live in their minds rent-free long after he retired from the battlefield and death. Similar to how our modern history could be altered and changed forever via certain major events and decisions made during ancient times by single individuals, who knows what would have happened to world events if Hannibal was indeed able to take down Rome?
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  • JS
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    A great general biography of Hannibal and his times. Not bogged down with tedious detail. Just enough to make it interesting.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Martin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Maps needed
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Haven't read much about Hannibal since I was at school, it's a good fast paced walk through of his life. It's relatively short, mostly as there clearly aren't that many sound historical sources or records on the man. Definitely in the "populat history" camp rather than too academic it was a good read. I docked the one star because I found myself constantly needing to look up maps of Italy to follow along. Would really have benefited from general maps and also possibly maps of the key battles.
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  • Glenn
    1.0 out of 5 stars A one-sided account
    Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2023
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    Unusually for the author, the subject is presented in a one-sided way. Hannibal is the hero in this account and he can do no wrong. No doubt it's a great read for Hannibal fanboys, but it's not a balanced history. I was disappointed.
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  • gord white
    3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of Boring
    Reviewed in Canada on March 18, 2022
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    I find the very generic. Somewhat disappointed.
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