How to Lose the Civil War - Military Mistakes of the War Between the States

Hannibal was one of the greatest military commanders in history. During the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, he led a ragtag army out of Iberia, on an epic march over the Pyrenees and Alps, and down into northern Italy. There he won three dramatic victories – at Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae – and utterly humiliated the young Roman Republic. For the next fifteen years he continued to occupy parts of Italy, and inflicted many more stinging defeats on Roman armies, despite a chronic lack of supplies and support from Carthage.

"An astute military historian's appraisal of what separates the sheep from the wolves in the great game of war."—Kirkus Reviews

In her fourth travelogue, Susie and her husband take to their bikes to explore the Marne valley, following in the carriage tracks of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI in their abortive escape attempt from the French revolution.

Susie is not a born cyclist, as she discovers within the first five minutes of a journey that will last three weeks. Neither does she look her best in Lycra cycling gear. While her husband whirls along effortlessly, she frequently grinds to a halt and has to be rescued. But the pair keep pedalling, from the glitz of Versailles to the hilly Champagne vineyards, via a hair-raising ride through Paris and through quaint provincial towns and sombre battlefields.

Like the bestselling "Best Foot Forward – a 500-mile walk through hidden France", and "Travels with Tinkerbelle – 6,000 miles around France in a mechanical wreck", "The Valley of Heaven and Hell – cycling in the shadow of Marie-Antoinette" is an enjoyable mixture of travel and history, told in Susie's characteristically light-hearted and self-depreciating style. One for armchair travellers to enjoy, or a good holiday read.

"This book manages to combine history, humor and the best of travel writing all in one."

"As someone who enjoys reading about travel on foot or bicycle I can say its as good as any I've read and is a massively entertaining and satisfying read."

"When it's funny it's laugh-out-loud funny, and when it's sad it is heart-breaking."

“The world’s most fascinating battles and how they were won or lost, according to the Chinese sage.”—Kirkus Reviews