Hannibal and Me
What History's Greatest Military Strategist Can Teach Us About Success and Failu re
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
A dynamic and exciting way to understand success and failure, through the life of Hannibal, one of history's greatest generals.
The life of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with his army in 218 B.C.E., is the stuff of legend. And the epic choices he and his opponents made-on the battlefield and elsewhere in life-offer lessons about responding to our victories and our defeats that are as relevant today as they were more than 2,000 years ago. A big new idea book inspired by ancient history, Hannibal and Me explores the truths behind triumph and disaster in our lives by examining the decisions made by Hannibal and others, including Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Steve Jobs, Ernest Shackleton, and Paul Cézanne-men and women who learned from their mistakes.
By showing why some people overcome failure and others succumb to it, and why some fall victim to success while others thrive on it, Hannibal and Me demonstrates how to recognize the seeds of success within our own failures and the threats of failure hidden in our successes. The result is a page-turning adventure tale, a compelling human drama, and an insightful guide to understanding behavior. This is essential reading for anyone who seeks to transform misfortune into success at work, at home, and in life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Several books on the legendary achievements of Hannibal have dwelled on one or two aspects of the ingenious general's life, but none has tackled the tricky mix of the impact of his life choices on and off the battlefield as well as this new analysis. Kluth, the West Coast correspondent for the Economist, brings a contemporary slant to Hannibal's military successes. Outnumbered by Roman legions, Hannibal couldn't win with brute force alone, but needed shrewd strategies and tactics. Bred to be a great soldier, Hannibal took the helm at age 26 in Carthage, then famously crossed the Alps to defeat one Roman army after another. For students of history or military tactics, Kluth does superior work in spelling out the elusive values of success and failure,: he explains how, like Hannibal, you can make your enemies defeat themselves; he also considers others like Fabius, who kept Hannibal on edge by attacking wherever Hannibal's troops were not; and Kluth fast-forwards to today's world, showing how Steve Jobs, like the ancients, learned to turn disaster into triumph. Realistic and timely, Kluth's book uses historic truths to move us past the frequent traps of success and failure to mold practical, productive lives.
