Michael P. Fronda is Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University. He has published a number of articles on topics in ancient history and has contributed to D. Hoyos (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to the Punic Wars.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Apulia; 3. Campania; 4. Bruttium and Western Magna Graecia; 5. Southern Lucania and Eastern Magna Graecia; 6. The Roman re-conquest of Southern Italy; 7. Conclusions; Appendix A. The war in Samnium, 217–209; Appendix B. Chronology of events in Bruttium, 215; Appendix C. Chronology of events from the defection of Taras through the defection of Thurii, 213–212; Appendix D. Defection of the Southern Lucanians, 212.

'Fronda's fresh and modern approach to the [Second Punic] war's diplomatic arena, which both incorporates material and numismatic evidence alongside written sources and situates events in their historical context, offers much more than its subtitle suggests. Although not structured as a narrative, the book develops a history of southern Italy in a neglected period, c.350–200 BCE, and contributes much of interest to scholars of Roman history more generally.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review