Carthage Must Be Destroyed

The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

By: Richard Miles

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

An epic history of a doomed civilization and a lost empire. The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.

Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles vividly brings to life this lost empire-from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest seapower in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal-the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe. The first full-scale history of Carthage in decades, Carthage Must Be Destroyed reintroduces modern listeners to the larger-than-life historical players and the ancient glory of this almost forgotten civilization.

©2011 Richard Miles (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Excellent but…

Wonderful effort in bringing to light the history of Carthage, as could be expected, sources are mainly from the victors…

The anglification of Latin names, using English long vowels where short ones are in order does feel awkward.

Just what I was looking for

I was always curious about Carthage. Couldn't fathom why a city state was obliterated. Maybe this book gave me a bit more than I wished for, but it was great. Thorough. Narrator was very good too.

Great account of the Mediterranean's "Other" City

As much as I have read about Roman history, I have only learned about Carthage while studying about Rome. Everything has been derived. Thus, Carthage was typically presented in almost a stereotypical manner, juxtaposed as the proverbial villain against Rome. Miles did a good job in distilling Carthaginian history, much of which was passed to us through Roman bias.

It is amazing to consider what Phoenicia and Carthage did through their exploration and establishing trade routes. Reading that they made it to the West coast of Africa, and probably up the French coast is not surprising. But to accomplish what they did given their technology and tools is remarkable.

Its tragic end was somewhat anti-climatic, although everything we have of it is through a Roman lens. And I don't think Miles fully grasped Scipio Corculum's opposition to the war. He presented this as a possible addition by later generations who had experienced the Roman Civil Wars that broke out after the fall of Carthage. But many Roman's understood their history and had seen what had happened previously when an up-and-coming civilization had supplanted its rival and arrived on the pinnacle with no rivals. Athens (Persian Empire) and Sparta (Athens) both suffered in a breakdown of their society's and then of their country after having bested their nemesis. The parallel with the US and the USSR is unmistakable.

Great read and a great companion to Cline's 1177 B.C., both of which I recommend highly. - Hamilton of the Smokies

Painfully poor Latin pronunciation

The writing and story are great, and the narrator has a great voice, but the terrible Latin pronunciation made my eye twitch.

The well researched material

Great overall, smart and entertaining. You can tell the depth of research that went into writing this book. The writer makes it entertaining and easy to follow.