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Thompson's history begins with mythology and primitive man and continues into the 20th century. In between we discover the many types of poisons and their origins, including hemlock, hellebore, arsenic, strychnine, and stramonium; and the many men and women who have chosen deadly elixirs for their murder weapon. Thompson recounts many of the most famous cases of poisoning including the attempts on Queen Elizabeth's life; Catherine Wilson, who carried out a series of cold-blooded murders by poison; the Crippen case; Mary Blandly, who was as beautiful as she was deadly; and countless others.
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LibraryThing member Schmerguls
This is a revised edition of a history of Carthage which was first published in 1960 and was written by a Cambridge-educated English historian and this revised edition was published in1969 and reprinted in 1993. It is a workmanlike history, without any effort to be 'popular' and hence, especially
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in the early chapters, is not exciting. But the account of the Punic Wars was full of interest for me, even though on 23 June 1961 I read Hannibal One Man Against Rome, by Harold Lamb and on 30 Nov 1971 read The Reluctant Warriors, by Donald Armstrong and on 27 Aug 2003 I read The Punic Wars by Adrian Goldsworthy and on 21 March 2011 I read The Ghosts of Cannae by Robert L. O'Connell. I thought it of interest that when Rome was debating whether Carthage should destroyed there was a faction in Rome which opposed such destruction because Rome need the competition in order not to decay. But that faction did not prevail and in 146 B.C. Carthage was destroyed by Rome and, as predicted, Rome eventually fell--but not as quickly as the faction predicted. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
I liked this simply because there are not that many books devoted primarily to Carthage
LibraryThing member la2bkk
Nice overview of a subject with traditionally little historic treatment.
The author begins with the Phoenician founding cities including Tyre and Sidon, as well as the various Phoenician colonies spread throughout the Mediterranean during Carthage's formation in the 8th century BC.
At times the
In any case, worthwhile reading since there are few books written on the Carthaginian empire.
The author begins with the Phoenician founding cities including Tyre and Sidon, as well as the various Phoenician colonies spread throughout the Mediterranean during Carthage's formation in the 8th century BC.
At times the
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history of Carthage's later conflicts with the Greeks in Sicily is confusing, as is the author's recount of the events of the First Punic War with Rome.In any case, worthwhile reading since there are few books written on the Carthaginian empire.
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