Combining a close reappraisal of the ancient written sources with the latest archaeological finds and his own research - having visited all the sites under examination - the author is able to offer new perspective on these dramatic events. In particular, the importance of studying the terrain and geography in our own understanding of what happened is underlined.

The battles and campaigns highlighted in this book, namely the Greek Ionian Revolt (500/499-493 BC) against their Persian masters, the battle of Marathon (490 BC) when Athens defeated the first Persian attempt TO conquer Greece, the battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) where Leonidas and his Spartans made their defiant stand, Caesar's little recorded civil war victory at llerda (49 BC) and the two battles of Bedriacum(AD 69), defining clashes of 'the year of the four emperors' are all famous episodes featuring famous commanders.

The author's style results in full pages of text, with few paragraphs and a certain degree of concentration is needed on the part of the reader in order to follow the story, but it is well worth the effort. With 37 plates, 18 maps, notes, a bibliography and an index all included, this title should prove popular with incident period buffs.

Military Modelling - Stuart Asquith