The Civilizations Of Sumer, Babylonia, And Assyria Which Sprang Up Along The Tigris And Euphrates Rivers In What Is Now The Country Of Iraq. Recent Archaeological Findings Are Used To Help Reconstruct The Ancient Cities And Towns And The Lives Of Their Inhabitants.

Life In Egypt During The Eighteenth Dynasty And The Days Of The Boy Pharaoh Tutenkhamun.

Life In Egypt During The Eighteenth Dynasty And The Days Of The Boy Pharaoh Tutenkhamun.

The Civilizations Of Sumer, Babylonia, And Assyria Which Sprang Up Along The Tigris And Euphrates Rivers In What Is Now The Country Of Iraq. Recent Archaeological Findings Are Used To Help Reconstruct The Ancient Cities And Towns And The Lives Of Their Inhabitants.

The cities of Troy and Knossos are the stuff of legend. One, the city of Homer's "Iliad", of Paris, Hector and Helen; the other home to a king who built a labyrinth in which to hide his monstrous son. This is the story of two of the most heroic, and controversial, figures in archaeology: Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the remains of Troy, and Arthur Evans who unearthed the great city of King Minos. Ranking alongside Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, the discoveries at Troy and Knossos enabled a new understanding of Prehistoric Greece, the very dawn of civilisation.They also proved that what until then had only been myths and daydreams were actually real. The Cretans did indeed worship the cult of the bull. Achilles and Agamemnon really did live. Replete with drama and adventure, "The Bull of Minos" tells of the 3,000-year old civilisations that were brought back to life, of the extraordinary men who toiled in their dusty ruins and of the magic and mystery of life in a world of gods and warriors.

In the year 216 B.C., Hannibal of Carthage, faced with an opposing Roman army twice the size of his own, outwitted the enemy at Cannae by means of a strategy which has become a classic of its kind. As a result of his famous "double pincer" maneuver, 70,000 Roman soldiers died within the space of a few hours on a field the size of New York's Central Park. Yet, as devastating and startling as Cannae was, it was only one of a long list of incredible achievements. Hannibal's fantastic 1,000-mile march across the Alps from Spain to Italy was one of the wonders of ancient times. He began his hazardous journey with 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants. By the time he reached the Valley of the Po, more than 30,000 troops and many of his elephants had perished, but he still managed to stay in Italy for sixteen years.Blending biography and military adventure, "Hannibal" is a portrait of a military genius who was also a highly civilized man. The son of Hamilcar Barca, a famous general in his own right, Hannibal was a student of the Greek classics. But his father's lifelong grudge against Rome fostered in the son a deep hatred for that Republic and a fierce determination to subdue it forever. This resulted in the bloody battles of Lake Trasimene, Campania, Nole, Capua, and Zama, all of which Leonard Cottrell describes with vigor and authority. In gathering material for "Hannibal," Cottrell traveled the entire route that Hannibal took across the Alps, thus bringing to his account a valuable firsthand knowledge of his subject. With the drama and authenticity for which he is famous, Leonard Cottrell describes Hannibal's amazing campaign--a saga of victory after victory which fell justshort of its ultimate goal: the annihilation of Rome.