«“A thorough account of the career of one of the ancient world’s most indelible and complex figures. Freeman vividly, almost cinematically, brings to life the career of Hannibal Barca, the great but ill-fated Carthaginian general whose tactical and strategic brilliance is still studied today. A simultaneously propulsive and nuanced account that hums on the page.”»

Kirkus, Starred Review

"Roman historians have cast Hannibal Barca as a cruel, uncouth barbarian, but Philip Freeman’s panoramic biography Hannibal supplies evidence that the great Carthaginian military leader was an educated statesman and diplomat, notable for his devotion to his country, family, and troops. Hannibal is an epic biography of the military genius who nearly ended Rome’s imperial expansion."

Foreword Reviews

«“Freeman offers a highly readable, well-organized military and personal biography of the Carthaginian general who nearly changed history, vividly revealing more amazing scenarios in Hannibal’s life and battles than any writer could concoct in a novel. Freeman ends with fascinating speculation on how the modern world would look if Hannibal had won. [A] vivid, fast-moving account.”»

Booklist

«Praise for Philip Freeman’s Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great:»

«"The greatest victory of the book, however, is Freeman’s storytelling. This biography stands out from others written about Alexander thanks to its smooth flow and interesting narrative. It is, as Freeman hopes, a history book for those readers who are not already experts on Alexander or his world.”»

The Saturday Evening Post

«“Freeman’s cultural and historical knowledge bring the emperor to life and humanize him in a way no writer before him has succeeded in doing.”»

Publishers Weekly

«“Here, in vivid and exciting detail, are all the familiar highlights of Alexander’s career: the battles, the tempestuous relationships, the dazzling ambitions, the mysterious death in Babylon. Mr. Freeman’s ambition, he tells us in his introduction, was ‘to write a biography of Alexander that is first and foremost a story.’ It is one he splendidly fulfills.”»

The Wall Street Journal

"Freeman writes beautifully and with picturesque vision when chronicling Hannibal’s most famous feat."

<I>Merion West</I>

"Freeman gives his readers much to consider in learning about a totally alien world in an easy, uncomplicated lively prose about an epic tale."

New York Journal of Books

«“Freeman does not hero worship Alexander, and does not paper over his subject’s many faults. At times, Alexander can seem like an almost mythic figure, but, as Freeman shows, he was all too human.”»

The Boston Globe