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Library Journal
The analysis of military tactics and players should be a carefully crafted exercise in historiography. It cannot be merely a laundry list of troop numbers (which should be in an appendix), but it cannot offer too much narrative elaboration, or one can end up with virtually fictional characters. Unfortunately, Dando-Collins (Caesar's Legion) displays both tendencies in his new book. The author is a good storyteller, but his habit of describing how ancient figures reacted emotionally in given situations is inappropriate for a historian. Claiming, e.g., that Roman statesman and general Mark Antony was smiling while making a decision is pointless and unreliable, even if an ancient commentator might have written it. The author's lack of discussion about his sources is particularly disturbing and throws many of his conclusions into doubt. Even though he goes into remarkable detail about the number of soldiers in each situation and the exact mileage of their marches, such unsourced statistics become wearying. The period he covers is fascinating for the historiography it has inspired (e.g., Victor Davis Hanson's The Western Way of War), yet this work seems not to recognize those discussions. Not recommended.—Clay Williams
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