Author Description

Their Greatest Hour: Rome, Carthage, and the Second Punic War is a unique look at one of the greatest conflicts in antiquity. Hannibal's audacious march through the Alps and his unchecked ravaging of Italy for nearly sixteen years against vastly superior forces, boggles the mind. Even the sheer scope of the conflict that raged throughout Italy, Spain, Greece, and North Africa, is incredible. The Second Punic War was also a pivotal moment in the history of western civilization ultimately making Rome into an empire and resulting in the complete eradication of Carthage and its people. This book is a collection of the author's previously published works concerning the Second Punic War. Charles R. King utilizes his academic education in physics and classical history to apply an original quantitative and empirical face to the study of previously unexamined topics. Accessible to both the professional historian and the buff, this volume enables the reader to approach the Second Punic War from a new and different point of view and also understand why this conflict was so central to Rome's transition from an Italian Republic to a Mediterranean Empire. The author utilizes primary sources and examination of available data to provide unique insights on the events, people, and causes of the war. This work not only utilizes King's education and academic background, but also takes advantage of his experience as a career military officer and of visits to many of the significant sites of the Punic Wars. Charles R. King is the author of nearly twenty works of historical non-fiction and is best known for his examination, and application of quantitative data to history.