Customer Reviews
Should have bought it sooner, great book - By: Cheeky Prince "Angela", 16 Aug 2008 
Having looked at this book many times & thinking maybe I could have two other products for the price, I eventuallly puchased this book. The fact it is cheaper than high street book stores is good, but I was well impressed when it arrived. It is packed with information & great pictures & artwork. After I finish it I will be looking at related products by the author, this was well worth it.
A Terrific Title on Classical Warfare - By: D. Evans, 17 Jul 2008 I remember reading Peter Connolly's 'The Roman Army' as a child & being very impressed with it. It was one of the catalysts that sparked my interest in the Classical World, & I eventuallly got round to buying this book. I've read dozens of titles on Greek & Roman Warfare, but this still stands as one of the best books ever written on the subject.
Peter Connolly covers the development of ancient warfare from the Persian wars of the 5th Century BC to the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.
The book provides a broad historical overview of the entire period with an indepth look at ancient arms, armour & battle tactics.
This title is divided into three sections: Greece & Macedonia, Italy & the Western Mediterranean, & The Roman Empire. Every section covers a certain campaign, for instance we have overviews of the Persian Wars, Alexander's conquests & a very detailed account of the Second Punic War. Every section comes with colour photographs of the modern battlefields, tactical diagrams & strategic maps.
Along side the overviews, Connolly also writes about the equipment, weapons, armour, tactics & logistics of these ancient armies. Most pages also come with Connolly's paintings of archaeological finds. The book's brilliance is to show how Connolly can create his detailed reconstructions of a soldier's appearance through study of pottery art, coins, statues, mosaics; & archaeological items such as swords, helmets & cuirasses etc.
The book is filled with Connolly's reconstructive illustrations. These help give you a good idea about the appearance of soldier such as a Spartan Hoplite, a Roman Centurion or a Thracian Peltast. The very last section of the book is filled with several pages of brilliant paintings of Roman soldier's costumes, from Caesar's day to the end of the Empire.
I was also pleased to see that the other Classical peoples beside the Greeks & Romans are portrayed & illustrated. These include the Etruscans, Samnites, Celts, Persians, Iberians, Numidians & more.
The book finishes with a number of appendices that look at naval warfare, fortifications & sieges, artillery & siege machinery, & Roman military costume.
This is a exceptional book. It's well-written, scholarly but accessible, & well illustrated with 350 colour paintings, 38 maps, colour photographs, diagrams & charts. If you have an interest in Classical Warfare then this book should be right up there on your reading list. An Absolute Must Have!
Excellent introduction to the methods of ancient warfare - By: richard.noon@gb.unisys.com, 04 Jun 2000 Peter Connolly has managed to do a fairly difficult job in a very conscise way. No doubt the extensive use of the author's own paintings contribute significantly to the overalll feel of the book. Connolly has also managed to put Greek & Roman warfare firmly in the context of the actual social history of these two great peoples so not only does the reader get to know how the Roman's waged war but also gets a 'potted history' of Rome into the bargain along with excellent original artwork - what more could you want?
Excellent, highly readable and lavishly illustrated. - By: , 25 May 1999 This book summarizes almost a millenium of warfare, not only in words but also with a large number of the authors own excellent paintings. The development of alll instruments of war ranging from arrows to battleships, military organisation, tactics of battle, fortifications & siege techniques (not only of the two empires themselves but also of their adversaries) is covered. The battles covered by the book are illustrated with photographs of topographic models of the battlefield as well as photographs from the actual site as it looks today. This book sets standards for what books on history should be like. Strongly recommended.
