Hannibal's early years are covered fairly quickly, but the author provides background on his education (which he notes was superior to that of most of his Roman opponents), early military experiences and motivations. Unfortunately, there is virtually no personal information in the volume - the format constraints make it difficult -but his brothers Hasdrubal and Mago (also commanders) were mentioned only briefly and I've never seen any information about whether or not Hannibal had any sons of his own. At any rate, the author quickly moves into Hannibal's arrival in Spain and preparations to attack Rome via a long-march through southern Gaul and across the Alps. There are three nice battle scenes by Peter Dennis in this volume: Hannibal crossing the Alps, the Battle of Cannae and Scipio Africanus meeting Hannibal. The bulk of the volume focuses on the Hannibal's three great victories (Lake Trasimene, the Trebbia and Cannae) and his defeat at Zama. Hannibal's 13 years of punitive operations in Italy after Cannae are covered quickly. The battle descriptions and analysis are probably the best part of this volume and quite good, along with supporting maps.
The later sections cover Hannibal's Roman opponents, inside Hannibal's mind, his post-war career and final suicide and his literary legacy. The author also provides a 1 ½ page bibliography. The photographs in this volume - a mixture of outdoor scenery and museum statuary - are considerably better than the boring photos of irrelevant artifacts that illustrate other volumes on ancient military topics. Indeed, as an author Nic Field demonstrates that he has the depth of knowledge to provide insightful comment on his subject, while also possessing the common sense to be able to render it meaningful and relevant for the modern reader. I would say the only thing lacking from this volume is a sense of pathos. Hannibal ultimately feels like a tragic figure in history - a military genius who was fighting for the losing side. Not only was Hannibal defeated in battle, but he was eventually driven from his homeland by his own countrymen and hounded by the vengeful Romans until he committed suicide. Today, he lies in an unmarked grave, with no monuments to his victories. Although it is difficult to truly know the man across the gap of 22 centuries, one suspects that a general of such great skill and audacity deserved better.
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