Andreas Kluth

When people ask me about what I read, I usually point to historical fiction or self-help. This book blends historical fiction help in one awe-inspiring package.

It begins with Hannibal. I knew him as the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps and almost defeated Rome. And at the heart of story the shifting relationships of Hannibal, Scipo Africanus, and Fabius, two Roman leaders.

Along the way, we are treated to life arcs of Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Shackleford (attempting to cross the Antarctic), Lewis (of Lewis & Clark), Cleopatra, Steve Jobs, Paul Cezzane, Albert Einstein, and Carl Jung. I learned a lot and this book more than peaked my interest in learning more about these people.

Maybe this book is more history than historical fiction. Still I have to think the author put some liberties to guessing what went through people's heads.

Like Hannibal who did the "impossible" and crossed the Alps in the winter, this book crossed and blended ideas in whole new ways. One of my favorite books I've read.
… (altro)

I picked this book up because Hannibal is one of my favorite historical figures and I am always happy to read more about him. Having jumped right into it, I didn't really know what to expect so I was a little surprised by the fact that it was more than just a history, it also had significant philosophical, psychological, and even self-help elements to it. In studying how to define success and how people achieve or fail to achieve it, Kluth regards not only Hannibal's life, but those of his nemesis Scipio Africanus, Einstein, Cleopatra, Jung, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amy Tan, Steve Jobs, Merriwether Lewis, and more. The book shouldn't be taken as an authoritative history as there are speculations and even fictional interactions that the author uses to demonstrate his points but as an observation of human motivations through significant historical personages, I believe he does an admirable job. Despite moving freely between time periods and anecdotes, the text feels cohesive and focused, only occasionally did I think it meandered too much. There was an overtone of didacticism which was unfortunate but relatively easy to ignore until the conclusion which felt a bit trite to me, but overall enjoyed the book. I find a lot of the current trendy non-fiction works that are so popular these days to be boring or even infuriating but Hannibal and Me is an example of the genre done well.… (altro)

I absolutely loved this book, which mines history for biographies that lay out the many roads to success - from the legendary feats that marked Hannibal's youth, eclipsing the years of frustration and defeat that followed, to the slow climb towards self-realization that Kluth identifies in Harry Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt.

I guess you could call Hannibal & Me a kind of erudite self-help book. Kluth chops each biography into short bits, combining parts of one story with parts of another in thematic chapters. So he talks about different kinds of success - the sharp ascent versus the slow climb - but also youthful success versus mature success, the straight road to triumph versus the comeback, worldly success versus self-realization and contentment. He talks about tactics versus strategy, and gives examples of people - like Cleopatra - who fail when they mistake one for the other.

Hannibal & Me is both interesting and wise. I don't know if it was the guy who read the audiobook (I listened to this during a cross-country road trip) or the author, but the author weaves his own life story into the mix, talking about lessons he's drawn from his own life, and infuses the whole book with a deep thoughtfulness. I was intellectually and emotionally engaged in the story, actually in tears more than once - the story of Eleanor Roosevelt was particularly moving.

… (altro)