Effort-less

IT may not seem that way, but I have been keeping up with my reading - it is my reviewing that has fallen behind.

Accordingly I intend to catch up with some short reviews of recently read books.

First up is military historian Sotirios Drokalos's The Wars Between The Greeks & The Carthaginians.

The book is published by Pen & Sword, and comes with all the usual faults of that publisher, namely using spellcheckers instead of competent proofreaders, and more-or-less dispensing with any attempt at editing.

But the company has come up with a new - at least to me - faux pas in apparently dispensing with a translator and instead using an early version of Google Translate.

All these add up to a frustrating read, for example on page four:

Carthage established its presence first in the Balearic Islands and specifically in Ebusus (present-day Ibiza), which it has since been used as a Carthaginian base

On page 82:

An important role in those successes of Dionysius played his alliance with the Gauls

On page 95:

However, on reaching Carthage, he was severely blamed, and was driven to suicide, according to Carthaginian morals. Moreover, his fellow citizens were so enraged with him for the fact that, as they believed, he had missed an excellent opportunity to subdue Syracuse that after executing him, they also beheaded his corpse.

On page 126:

Nevertheless, Agathocles had to attack, as his supplies were running out, and his troops suffered from a lack of supplies.

Three defences are said to be "impregnable" and another "unassailable," we learn of the work of "gunsmiths," are told of an "oil tree" and meet Carthage's "Holy Company" (Sacred Band is meant).

Enough of the irritating negatives - what about the positives?

There are plenty, and not surprisingly as the west Mediterranean before the dominant rise of Rome has an exciting history.

If you have read the ancient sources, Drokalos is not really telling anything new, but he tells it in a fast-paced and gripping way that helped me easily speed through the book.

I would like to have seen fuller descriptions and discussions of the major battles (and especially a map or two), but there is only so much that can be included in this type of general study.

It makes a pleasing addition to my library, especially as I received a discount (I cannot recall how much) by pfre-ordering the £22 hardback.

Recommended ... with reservations