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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8504935" data-attributes="member: 7023840">So on my COVID-induced break I've been wrapping up a few shows and books.The most recent book was kind of a disappointment, unfortunately. Carthage Must Be Destroyed, by Richard Miles. I wanted to love this book. I've always been fascinated by Carthage, and, um...spoiler, I guess....??? Really, who knows any more! Yeah, Rome kind of kicked their posterior, burned the city to the ground, and salted the earth- so there's not a whole lot of history we have from their side. Any way, this book supposedly told the story of Carthage from the Carthaginian p.o.v. by combining modern archaeological evidence and combing through the ancient histories (which were distorted) to present a more balanced and comprehensive look.I guess it did the best job possible? The thing is, I didn't learn a whole lot that was brand new to me. It just made me sad ... because it just re-emphasized that so much was lost and will never be fully known.There was also something about the writing style that didn't quite work for me. The best example is how Miles kept teasing child sacrifice by the Carthaginians, usually in the context of &quot;Oh, the Romans and Greeks always make up slurs against their enemies,&quot; and then moved on to something else, and then in what was an aside was like, &quot;Oh yeah, they were totally doing the child sacrifice, even after the Eastern Phoenicians had abandoned it.&quot; It was just a weird stylistic choice. So if you're really into Carthage (um... that's not a euphemism) you should read it. I don't regret reading it. But I wish it was more.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8504935, member: 7023840"] So on my COVID-induced break I've been wrapping up a few shows and books. The most recent book was kind of a disappointment, unfortunately. [I]Carthage Must Be Destroyed[/I], by Richard Miles. I wanted to love this book. I've always been fascinated by Carthage, and, um... spoiler, I guess....??? Really, who knows any more! Yeah, Rome kind of kicked their posterior, burned the city to the ground, and salted the earth- so there's not a whole lot of history we have from their side. Any way, this book supposedly told the story of Carthage from the Carthaginian p.o.v. by combining modern archaeological evidence and combing through the ancient histories (which were distorted) to present a more balanced and comprehensive look. I guess it did the best job possible? The thing is, I didn't learn a whole lot that was brand new to me. It just made me sad ... because it just re-emphasized that so much was lost and will never be fully known. There was also something about the writing style that didn't quite work for me. The best example is how Miles kept teasing child sacrifice by the Carthaginians, usually in the context of "Oh, the Romans and Greeks always make up slurs against their enemies," and then moved on to something else, and then in what was an aside was like, "Oh yeah, they were totally doing the child sacrifice, even after the Eastern Phoenicians had abandoned it." It was just a weird stylistic choice. So if you're really into Carthage (um... that's not a euphemism) you should read it. I don't regret reading it. But I wish it was more. [/QUOTE]

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