The Complete Roman Army by Adrian Goldsworthy
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Book Reviews of The Complete Roman Army
Book Review: Very Accurate Book good reference material
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a good book full of information as I used it for reference material for a college term paper.Book Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has excellent, succinct commentary and very good drawings, photos, and maps. Well done!Book Review: A Beautiful Book
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a wonderfully researched, written and assembled reference book covering various aspects of the Roman Army over several centuries. The author did a careful and scholarly job of putting together and referencing important historical information which provides substance and accuracy. It is full of beautful photographs and illustrations that are of great benefit to understanding.
Everyone interested in the Roman Army must own and read this book.
However, I am still looking for something more...maybe a bit different....... which takes nothing away from the brilliance of this book.
As a challenge to authors, the one subject that intrigues me after reading so many books on Roman history, has to do with the soldiers who made up the legions, in particular the soldiers who served during the time of Julius Caesar when there were no permanent garrisons..when daily life for 16 years consisted of hand to hand combat with sword and pilum or travelling great distances by foot and life was in a tent. i.e. what sort of people were these? What were the centurion like to organize, lead and motivate these troops ? How exactly did they win in combat ? How did troop formations change so quickly during battle ...we know that they did but exactly how was this possible given the nature of the combat at hand? Many battles lasted for many hours, some for days, where initial formations could not have been sustained...what happened then? In such difficult and lengthy battles was it a role of the reserve to reestablish the formation or did centurions take over with success dependent upon individual initiatives at the "squad, platoon and company" level as is taught in the American Army today.
and how did the personal charisma of the great Roman leaders such as Julius and Germanicus personally affect these troops? Clearly the famous disasters of the Roman Army are linked to disastrous and less famous leaders. But to me the real mystery of the Roman Army is how the elements of military leadership, discipline, motivation and technology all somehow came together to produce results, both good and bad, across the span of Republic and Empire with my special interest in Julius Caesar who must have been one of the most remarkable and effective military leaders in all of human history. In repeated examples his mere presence changed the behavior of thousands of troops....what kind of man was this ? How did such leaders view themselves and how did they view others ?
(By the way, Goldsworthy takes on the subject of Julius Caesar in another wonderful book that he wrote "Caesar" which I also highly recommend.)
So I am still looking not for the chronology or facts of history but rather more about the people who actually produced the results that we read about.
Book Review: Started good, but failed at the end
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent resource to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Roman Army. The book examines everything from weapons, tactics, daily life of the soldier, and the surrounding political environment. It has a nice array of artist illustrations, photographs of murals and sculptures, and tactical battle maps. I can't really add to what the other reviewers have said.
I was, however, disappointed that the book gave very little attention to the later Roman Army, and instead focused mostly on the consular armies of the Republic and the professional army of the Principate. The author provides a very generic and cursory view of the 4-5 centuries, dismisses the idea that barbarization led to the army's decline and basically says while there were some minor changes in weapons and tactics, the army pretty much operated the same way it did under the Principate.
This is very frustrating. The author does not address the effect of billeting troops in the city during the 4-5th centuries. He does not take into account the massive influx of barbarian federates serving under their own leaders (in contrast to the alae of the republican era serving under Roman officers). The author does not discuss whether the change in armor/weapons in the late 3rd century affected tactics or the effectiveness of the army. This is notable because the renderings of a late 3rd century soldier look awfully similar to the auxilla of the former periods. He does not address the increasing necessity to rely on conscripts and recently defeated barbarians en masse or the "upgrading" of border troops to serve along with the regular field army. He does not discuss why the army reverted to fighting with spears in what was basically an old Greek phalanx formation.
All in all, this is a great introductory book if you are interested in the consular armies and the armies of the Principate. If you are interested in the later Roman Army, look elsewhere.
Book Review: Very Happy I Bought It
Summary: 4 Stars
Loved the color photos of re-enactors, as well as a whole section devoted to the daily life of a Roman recruit. Book has good production values, and seems authoritative -- certainly informative!One slight peeve, though: the Empire map alternates between Latin names and modern English ones, as in "Italia" but "Sicily" and not "Sicilia," or "Neopolis" but "Rome" and not "Roma," "Belgica" and "Dacia" but "Lower Germany" instead of "Germania Inferior," etc.