What do you think?
Rate this book
Carthage: A new history of an ancient empire
'This is not only history reclaimed, this is history at its best!' Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, author of the Age of the Great Kings
Carthage was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for almost six centuries before its fall to Rome. The history of the realm and its Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors and, along the way, the story of the real Carthage was lost. An ancient North African kingdom, Carthage was the home of Hannibal and of Dido, of war elephants and enormous power and wealth, of great beauty and total destruction.
In this landmark new history, Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. A journey that takes us the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the centre of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the tale, revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome.
Carthage was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for almost six centuries before its fall to Rome. The history of the realm and its Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors and, along the way, the story of the real Carthage was lost. An ancient North African kingdom, Carthage was the home of Hannibal and of Dido, of war elephants and enormous power and wealth, of great beauty and total destruction.
In this landmark new history, Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. A journey that takes us the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the centre of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the tale, revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome.
Audible Audio
First published August 7, 2025
36 people are currently reading
4030 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 4, 2025
I am notorious (if anyone cared that is) for liking ancient history the least of all time periods. I find the inability to tell cohesive stories for many ancient people to be a big drawback to my feeble brain. Then, there is a book like Carthage by Eve MacDonald, and I finally get it. For this particular book, at least.
MacDonald tells the story of the world power that Rome tried to erase from history. The major points are here like the Punic Wars and the scourge of Rome, Hannibal. Incidentally, these are the strongest points of the book. MacDonald weaves in archaeology, but I personally loved her willingness to say numerous times, "We really don't know what happened," and especially, "this was definitely exaggerated because that's what they did back then." MacDonald's writing style is familiar while being erudite (yes, I did have to google to double check that was the word I was going for as clearly I am not erudite myself) - (ironic self-burn!).
As I am a curmudgeon, I did have a little trouble with the early chapters. The opening salvo about Dido is quite good, but slows down a bit for me before picking up before the Punic Wars. That said, this is not my era. If you are an ancient history nerd, then I am almost positive this is a 5 star book. If you are like me, this is still well worth your time. You may even change your mind about ancient history books.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and W.W. Norton.)
MacDonald tells the story of the world power that Rome tried to erase from history. The major points are here like the Punic Wars and the scourge of Rome, Hannibal. Incidentally, these are the strongest points of the book. MacDonald weaves in archaeology, but I personally loved her willingness to say numerous times, "We really don't know what happened," and especially, "this was definitely exaggerated because that's what they did back then." MacDonald's writing style is familiar while being erudite (yes, I did have to google to double check that was the word I was going for as clearly I am not erudite myself) - (ironic self-burn!).
As I am a curmudgeon, I did have a little trouble with the early chapters. The opening salvo about Dido is quite good, but slows down a bit for me before picking up before the Punic Wars. That said, this is not my era. If you are an ancient history nerd, then I am almost positive this is a 5 star book. If you are like me, this is still well worth your time. You may even change your mind about ancient history books.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and W.W. Norton.)
August 3, 2025
Carthage has spent centuries being seen through Roman eyes, from Virgil's mythologised account of its founding to how its destruction is inextricably linked to Roman national heroes like Cato and Scipio. In this book, MacDonald seeks to fill in the blanks using the tools of modern scholarship, examining what we do know about Carthaginian culture and showcasing a vibrant empire that managed to strike fear into Roman hearts. I admired how she drew on interesting aspects of material culture to explore Carthage's history, such as explaining how the debasement of its coinage gives clues as to its economic state during war, though her account of the Punic Wars is relatively brief (albeit because I'm assuming there's a lot of existing scholarship on this matter). Having spent a lot of time recently thinking about Carthage, for what I'm going to call "personal reasons", this is a wonderfully written history that resurrects one of history's most fascinating empires.
August 28, 2025
Everyone knows the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants but ancient Carthage was so much more than that. It was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for six centuries before it fell to Rome.
Starting with the Phoenicians of the early Iron Age this book reclaims the story of Carthage from the Romans. History is told by the victors but archaeological evidence is now showing us the true story behind the legend.
The only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques,how to cultivate the best wine and innovations to help plants thrive The Romans took all the Carthaginian technology and land to build their power base. It is no wild claim to state that without Carthage,there would have been no Roman Empire.
Starting with the Phoenicians of the early Iron Age this book reclaims the story of Carthage from the Romans. History is told by the victors but archaeological evidence is now showing us the true story behind the legend.
The only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques,how to cultivate the best wine and innovations to help plants thrive The Romans took all the Carthaginian technology and land to build their power base. It is no wild claim to state that without Carthage,there would have been no Roman Empire.
September 17, 2025
I haven't read a book solely on Carthaginian history before, and this is a great one to start with i found. It covers the entire story of cathage with a little extra either side. It introduced me to new figures, such as Agothoclese of Syracuse, who i want to read more about. Its a very captivating read and not one I wanted to put down. Overall I would 100% recommend this to anyone, those who haven't or have already read about the history of Carthage, as this was a great read.
5/5
5/5
August 25, 2025
3,5 stars;
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In "Carthage: A New History," Eve MacDonald sets out to recover a civilization known primarily through the testimony of its executioners. Rather than rehash the familiar story—Carthage as Rome’s cunning, morally suspect rival— MacDonald asks a more complicated question: what can be said about Carthage when we stop taking Roman hostility at face value and instead combine hostile literary sources with two decades of archaeological and scientific research?
The book traces Carthage’s history from its Phoenician foundations to its destruction in 146 BCE, but its real subject is not chronology. MacDonald argues that Carthage was not a marginal antagonist in Rome’s rise but one of the foundational cultures of the western Mediterranean. Rome did not merely defeat Carthage; it inherited and repurposed many of its economic systems, maritime practices, and imperial assumptions. This is framed as a corrective to a historiography shaped almost entirely by Roman survival.
MacDonald is strongest when archaeology does the work Roman texts cannot. Coinage debasement during the First Punic War reveals economic strain more vividly than any moralizing account by Polybius—the silver content drops, the inflation is measurable, and the desperation becomes concrete rather than rhetorical. DNA and isotope analysis from mass graves complicate simplistic notions of “mercenary armies” and instead point to a highly mobile, interconnected Mediterranean world. Her treatment of the Tophet—a sanctuary containing thousands of urns with cremated infant remains that Romans claimed proved child sacrifice—is careful and restrained: she resists both Roman sensationalism and modern wishful thinking, accepting ambiguity where the evidence demands it.
The writing stays accessible without condescension. MacDonald uses well-known individuals such as Dido, Hamilcar, Hannibal, and Sophonisba as entry points into broader political and social structures rather than heroic centerpieces. War fills the latter half, but trade, agriculture, religion, and civic governance remain present forces, not scenery. Carthage emerges as a society shaped by negotiation between oligarchic elites, popular assemblies, and powerful generals, a balance that was often productive and occasionally disastrous.
The book’s limitations are real, and MacDonald acknowledges them without apology. The absence of Carthaginian voices forces a degree of inference that sometimes leans heavily on suspicion of Roman motives. Readers hoping for a fully reconstructed “Carthaginian perspective” will find that the sources’ silence remains stubbornly intact. Still, this is less a flaw than a condition of the subject itself, and MacDonald rarely overstates what the evidence can bear.
Ultimately, the book doesn’t overturn Rome’s victory—that’s impossible—but it does break Rome’s monopoly on interpretation. MacDonald does not ask readers to admire Carthage uncritically. She asks them to recognize how much of Mediterranean history has been narrowed by conquest—how the economic networks, the shipbuilding innovations, the political experiments have all been filtered through Roman memory. In doing so, she restores Carthage from its historical role as a foil to a serious civilization whose loss diminished the story Rome went on to tell unilaterally.
This review is of an advance reader’s edition provided by NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company.
The book traces Carthage’s history from its Phoenician foundations to its destruction in 146 BCE, but its real subject is not chronology. MacDonald argues that Carthage was not a marginal antagonist in Rome’s rise but one of the foundational cultures of the western Mediterranean. Rome did not merely defeat Carthage; it inherited and repurposed many of its economic systems, maritime practices, and imperial assumptions. This is framed as a corrective to a historiography shaped almost entirely by Roman survival.
MacDonald is strongest when archaeology does the work Roman texts cannot. Coinage debasement during the First Punic War reveals economic strain more vividly than any moralizing account by Polybius—the silver content drops, the inflation is measurable, and the desperation becomes concrete rather than rhetorical. DNA and isotope analysis from mass graves complicate simplistic notions of “mercenary armies” and instead point to a highly mobile, interconnected Mediterranean world. Her treatment of the Tophet—a sanctuary containing thousands of urns with cremated infant remains that Romans claimed proved child sacrifice—is careful and restrained: she resists both Roman sensationalism and modern wishful thinking, accepting ambiguity where the evidence demands it.
The writing stays accessible without condescension. MacDonald uses well-known individuals such as Dido, Hamilcar, Hannibal, and Sophonisba as entry points into broader political and social structures rather than heroic centerpieces. War fills the latter half, but trade, agriculture, religion, and civic governance remain present forces, not scenery. Carthage emerges as a society shaped by negotiation between oligarchic elites, popular assemblies, and powerful generals, a balance that was often productive and occasionally disastrous.
The book’s limitations are real, and MacDonald acknowledges them without apology. The absence of Carthaginian voices forces a degree of inference that sometimes leans heavily on suspicion of Roman motives. Readers hoping for a fully reconstructed “Carthaginian perspective” will find that the sources’ silence remains stubbornly intact. Still, this is less a flaw than a condition of the subject itself, and MacDonald rarely overstates what the evidence can bear.
Ultimately, the book doesn’t overturn Rome’s victory—that’s impossible—but it does break Rome’s monopoly on interpretation. MacDonald does not ask readers to admire Carthage uncritically. She asks them to recognize how much of Mediterranean history has been narrowed by conquest—how the economic networks, the shipbuilding innovations, the political experiments have all been filtered through Roman memory. In doing so, she restores Carthage from its historical role as a foil to a serious civilization whose loss diminished the story Rome went on to tell unilaterally.
This review is of an advance reader’s edition provided by NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company.
November 11, 2025
Eve Macdonald's Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire is an electrifying reclamation of a civilisation long distorted by history's victors.
Macdonald gathers the scattered remnants of Carthaginian history fragments preserved almost entirely through the pens of hostile Roman writers-and confronts the propaganda, contradictions, and moral self-justifications within those accounts. She dismantles the simplistic narrative that Carthage was a threatening empire that "had to be destroyed," revealing instead a complex, multicultural, and technologically sophisticated civilisation that thrived along the North African coast.
She frames Carthage's story between two powerful female figures: its founding queen and the women who made the city's final, unthinkable sacrifices as Rome closed in.
Through Macdonald's lens, Carthage is no longer a shadow cast by Rome but a vibrant cultural force in its own right.
At the heart of the book lie the Punic Wars-three devastating conflicts that expose centuries of trauma, imperial aggression, and political manoeuvring. Macdonald's approach is strikingly balanced: the Carthaginians are not the villains of someone else's heroic epic, but human beings-ambitious, terrified, resilient, flawed.
Her treatment of Hannibal is the strongest example of this. Stripped of the monstrous mythology imposed by Roman historians, he emerges as a man: brilliant, burdened, propelled into a lifelong war to avenge a homeland he scarcely remembered. We witness the collapse of the Barcid legacy, the deaths of allies who followed him to the bitter end, and Hannibal's lonely exile, still fighting against corruption, still resisting Rome until he chooses suicide rather than surrender.
And yet, Macdonald does something rarer still: she extends the same humanity to Hannibal's enemies.
The Scipio lineage, Rome's celebrated military dynasty and Hannibal's generational adversaries, is treated with nuance and respect. They are not portrayed as caricatures of imperial cruelty, but as noble and complex figures locked in an unforgiving cycle of duty and destiny. The emotional crescendo arrives when Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of Hannibal's great rival, leads the final assault that will wipe Carthage from the earth. Macdonald's writing is devastating. The man who destroys Carthage weeps as it falls mourning the very enemy Rome demanded he annihilate.
In that moment, the tragedy of Carthage becomes universal: not a triumph of empire, but a requiem for everything lost when only the conqueror's story survives.
This is not merely a history book it is a resurrection.
Macdonald gathers the scattered remnants of Carthaginian history fragments preserved almost entirely through the pens of hostile Roman writers-and confronts the propaganda, contradictions, and moral self-justifications within those accounts. She dismantles the simplistic narrative that Carthage was a threatening empire that "had to be destroyed," revealing instead a complex, multicultural, and technologically sophisticated civilisation that thrived along the North African coast.
She frames Carthage's story between two powerful female figures: its founding queen and the women who made the city's final, unthinkable sacrifices as Rome closed in.
Through Macdonald's lens, Carthage is no longer a shadow cast by Rome but a vibrant cultural force in its own right.
At the heart of the book lie the Punic Wars-three devastating conflicts that expose centuries of trauma, imperial aggression, and political manoeuvring. Macdonald's approach is strikingly balanced: the Carthaginians are not the villains of someone else's heroic epic, but human beings-ambitious, terrified, resilient, flawed.
Her treatment of Hannibal is the strongest example of this. Stripped of the monstrous mythology imposed by Roman historians, he emerges as a man: brilliant, burdened, propelled into a lifelong war to avenge a homeland he scarcely remembered. We witness the collapse of the Barcid legacy, the deaths of allies who followed him to the bitter end, and Hannibal's lonely exile, still fighting against corruption, still resisting Rome until he chooses suicide rather than surrender.
And yet, Macdonald does something rarer still: she extends the same humanity to Hannibal's enemies.
The Scipio lineage, Rome's celebrated military dynasty and Hannibal's generational adversaries, is treated with nuance and respect. They are not portrayed as caricatures of imperial cruelty, but as noble and complex figures locked in an unforgiving cycle of duty and destiny. The emotional crescendo arrives when Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of Hannibal's great rival, leads the final assault that will wipe Carthage from the earth. Macdonald's writing is devastating. The man who destroys Carthage weeps as it falls mourning the very enemy Rome demanded he annihilate.
In that moment, the tragedy of Carthage becomes universal: not a triumph of empire, but a requiem for everything lost when only the conqueror's story survives.
This is not merely a history book it is a resurrection.
October 9, 2025
Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire is an excellent, accessible book on the history of Carthage. Some very nice details that I often find omitted are that it discusses our sources and how that impacts our understanding, it includes up to date academic journals (as it should), and its editing (chapters, layout etc.) is excellent.
So who is this for? It's so accessible I'd say I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to learn or get more context for the Punic Wars or Antiquity in general. You certainly don't need to be an academic or a history buff, it's that well written, but as someone who is a bit of a Carthagophile, I found it very enjoyable, especially the parts on sources and the scholarly information that had been included and put in context. I'm gutted for Eve that the genetic research showing that the Carthaginians were more closely related to the Greeks than the Phoenicians (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...) didn't make it in time for publishing, otherwise I'm sure this would've been included in the section about Carthage's multiethnic section, featuring Hannibal the Rhodian.
Now I'm going to nitpick a bit. It's natural to compare it to Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed. Eve MacDonald's writing is considerably less dense and an easier read, at the expense of some detail. I would've loved to have had some more info on the native peoples of Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain and their interactions with the Phoenicians. While it might be slightly outside the scope of this book, as this is a book on Carthage, not the Phoenicians, it's context I wish had been included.
I would also have appreciated more maps, though that wasn't an issue for me personally, as I know the battles of the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae, and Zama by heart, but for a book I feel is very accessible to newer readers, it's something I wish was there for them. These are small things, and are things I'd love to see included in a 2nd edition or paperback.
As a small observation, I would recommend reading The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan after this. Eve touches on the populism and break down of customs and norms in Rome during the Third Punic Wars, and Mike Duncan picks up with Scipio Aemilianus in Carthage. It's a perfect way of continuing the story!
All in all, I'd recommend this over Carthage Must Be Destroyed. It's up to date, better written, and more accessible. I loved it and I'm lending my copy to my dad now. Eve's book has reminded me I really hope we find Sosylus' chronicles in the papyrus rolls of Herculaneum!
So who is this for? It's so accessible I'd say I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to learn or get more context for the Punic Wars or Antiquity in general. You certainly don't need to be an academic or a history buff, it's that well written, but as someone who is a bit of a Carthagophile, I found it very enjoyable, especially the parts on sources and the scholarly information that had been included and put in context. I'm gutted for Eve that the genetic research showing that the Carthaginians were more closely related to the Greeks than the Phoenicians (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...) didn't make it in time for publishing, otherwise I'm sure this would've been included in the section about Carthage's multiethnic section, featuring Hannibal the Rhodian.
Now I'm going to nitpick a bit. It's natural to compare it to Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed. Eve MacDonald's writing is considerably less dense and an easier read, at the expense of some detail. I would've loved to have had some more info on the native peoples of Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain and their interactions with the Phoenicians. While it might be slightly outside the scope of this book, as this is a book on Carthage, not the Phoenicians, it's context I wish had been included.
I would also have appreciated more maps, though that wasn't an issue for me personally, as I know the battles of the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae, and Zama by heart, but for a book I feel is very accessible to newer readers, it's something I wish was there for them. These are small things, and are things I'd love to see included in a 2nd edition or paperback.
As a small observation, I would recommend reading The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan after this. Eve touches on the populism and break down of customs and norms in Rome during the Third Punic Wars, and Mike Duncan picks up with Scipio Aemilianus in Carthage. It's a perfect way of continuing the story!
All in all, I'd recommend this over Carthage Must Be Destroyed. It's up to date, better written, and more accessible. I loved it and I'm lending my copy to my dad now. Eve's book has reminded me I really hope we find Sosylus' chronicles in the papyrus rolls of Herculaneum!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
(3.5 stars)
When history is written by the winners, it can mean the losers are all but erased- and that is what happened with Carthage. Anything anyone today knows about the city comes to us from Roman eyes. So this book, trying to find the Carthage that isn't told to us through Roman propaganda, is a fascinating and much needed book for the history shelves.
From the city's founding as a Phoenecian outpost to its destruction by Rome hundreds of years later, Eve McDonald takes readers through the development of a city, a people, and a mega-power whose existence rivaled (and threatened) Rome's desire to dominate the Mediterranean. She critically examines both ancient sources and modern archaeological discoveries to evaluate how different events, trade, sieges, and the wars with Rome would have effected the Carthaginians. I found her explaination of the changes in the power structures across the Mediterranean over time, and how Alexander the Great essentially changed the game for everyone, quite interesting.
The chapters on the Punic Wars were, for me, the clearest and best written. Maybe because there's the most evidence in the historical sources for her to work with. McDonald is never afraid to admit when there is simply not enough information for scholars to do more than some educated guesswork on something, which I admire. By the end of the book I was pretty solidly on Carthage's side and wishing more reasonable treatied could have worked- but apparently that's not what was going on in this time.
An excellent, well-written, well-researched book for anyone who is interested in getting the story Carthage wishes it could have told us. A must-read for ancient history enthusiasts.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
When history is written by the winners, it can mean the losers are all but erased- and that is what happened with Carthage. Anything anyone today knows about the city comes to us from Roman eyes. So this book, trying to find the Carthage that isn't told to us through Roman propaganda, is a fascinating and much needed book for the history shelves.
From the city's founding as a Phoenecian outpost to its destruction by Rome hundreds of years later, Eve McDonald takes readers through the development of a city, a people, and a mega-power whose existence rivaled (and threatened) Rome's desire to dominate the Mediterranean. She critically examines both ancient sources and modern archaeological discoveries to evaluate how different events, trade, sieges, and the wars with Rome would have effected the Carthaginians. I found her explaination of the changes in the power structures across the Mediterranean over time, and how Alexander the Great essentially changed the game for everyone, quite interesting.
The chapters on the Punic Wars were, for me, the clearest and best written. Maybe because there's the most evidence in the historical sources for her to work with. McDonald is never afraid to admit when there is simply not enough information for scholars to do more than some educated guesswork on something, which I admire. By the end of the book I was pretty solidly on Carthage's side and wishing more reasonable treatied could have worked- but apparently that's not what was going on in this time.
An excellent, well-written, well-researched book for anyone who is interested in getting the story Carthage wishes it could have told us. A must-read for ancient history enthusiasts.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
January 10, 2026
This is a great new history of Carthage, Eve Macdoland takes a multi disciplinary approach looking at literature as well as archaeological evidence to understand the real Carthage and the real people and events behind the myths and characters such as Cato and Hannibal. The book traces the Carthaginians from their beginnings as ‘Phoenicians’, how and why they founded Carthage, their place as a foremost power of the Mediterranean, trading with their neighbours including the Etruscans and making early peace treaties with Rome and the wars with Rome that led ultimately to their destruction. Macdonald tries to free the Carthaginians from the Roman interpretation of them and the ‘othering’ found in Roman sources even though these are pretty much the only sources we have and I think she does a great job and this is a worthwhile read.
November 2, 2025
Eve MacDonald has written a Book for the General Reader , who like me knew some of the story , and after Reading The Aeneid last Yr , this Hooked me from the Start very nuanced and Fair contextuslizing The Roman Histories of this Period , but at the same time acknowleging their value
Though a corrective it never falls into the Trap of Rome Bad Carthage good it’s Never tendentious or Partisan but placing Carthage in it’s rightful Position in the History of Great Mediterranean Cultures , I learned a lot but also corrected my onesided View of of Rome
Love the way I was Rooting for Carthage though I knew the outcome , but Eve put Carthage and all it’s achievements back Centre Stage up there with Rome
Though a corrective it never falls into the Trap of Rome Bad Carthage good it’s Never tendentious or Partisan but placing Carthage in it’s rightful Position in the History of Great Mediterranean Cultures , I learned a lot but also corrected my onesided View of of Rome
Love the way I was Rooting for Carthage though I knew the outcome , but Eve put Carthage and all it’s achievements back Centre Stage up there with Rome
October 31, 2025
A really nice narrative with nuggets I had never known before. I was particularly interested in pre-Roman Sicily and the rest of the Barcid family besides Hannibal. Often I found Eve's tone a little too conversational, and might have liked more discussion on a point or two, although I recognise the limitation both of the pop history format as well as the actual information available. Overall I will definitely come back to this for creative inspiration, I think everyone should be familiar with the tale of the Barcids. It is such a classic and brilliant tragedy it's difficult to remember as you're reading it that it largely all happened.
January 15, 2026
As a fan of Rome and all her accomplishments through out their history, empire and republic I thought I had a grasp on what a Carthaginian was, could be and did. Eve Macdonald was able to introduce them to me in a way that felt like discovering an old friend is actually really talented and has never told you.
I am sitting here fascinated by a religion, culture and people that I have been reading about since my early school days. amazing!
I am sitting here fascinated by a religion, culture and people that I have been reading about since my early school days. amazing!
November 18, 2025
Really like these types of book. The author gives a rundown of history of Carthage with a critique of the sources so there is constant discussion of what can be assumed or relied upon or even discounted depending on the bias of the greek or roman offering the information. Very much a piecing together of what can be gleamed from history and myth. From the introduction you know you have a good one.
October 25, 2025
4/5
Not much to say about it. It’s the first book I’ve read specifically about Carthage and I found it to be a pretty good overview and introduction. A bit slow at first when focusing on the initial founding of the city but once it gets to the exploration and expansion phase it gets better.
Not much to say about it. It’s the first book I’ve read specifically about Carthage and I found it to be a pretty good overview and introduction. A bit slow at first when focusing on the initial founding of the city but once it gets to the exploration and expansion phase it gets better.
September 3, 2025
Great book. Easy to read. Highly recommend
October 3, 2025
A bit thinner than I expected and with not enough new stuff of interest
October 12, 2025
Excellent
November 1, 2025
New perspectives on ancient Carthage for the point of view of the Carthaginians rather than the Romans, based on the archaeology and stripping away the later Roman propaganda. Fascinating read
Review of advance copy received from StoryGraph
I never knew I needed a book that challenged Roman perspectives on Carthage...I really needed it
December 29, 2025
An excellent run-through of the history of this underrated ancient city. The traditional literature is backed up by recent archeological discoveries to give us a broader picture of what went down. I loved the Sicilian connection, but nothing was more exciting than Hannibal’s antics, unsurprisingly.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews