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Summary: Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae
Review: This book was absolutely wonderful. From the first page I was hooked by the captivating story. Gates of Fire was writen beautifully and wtih such detail I felt like I was right there. I loved how the characters were brought to life with pure emotion and heart. This was a terrific book and i would recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: Hoplite's Eye View of Thermopylae
Review: Steven Pressfield does an excellent job of bringing the terror and exhilaration of close quarters combat to life. He does an especially good job of detailing the afermath of such moments. As a martial artist, former police officer and soldier I have experienced such moments. Mr. Pressfield uses what might be 'modern' terms and expressions to help bring the life of the Spartan soldiers closer to the modern reader. True, some of the brutality of Spartan life is skimmed over. However, the story is told from the view point of one born into brutality. Such conditions are alien to most modern readers. Mr. Pressfield focuses on the warrior and his craft. Outstanding job, Mr. Pressfield.
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Summary: Unsparing truth about war and society in ancient Greece
Review: If this novel doesn't resonate with veterans of infantry combat as well as classicists and serious students of military history, I'll hang up my keyboard. Remember that old TV series, "You Are There?" Well, you are.
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Summary: EMOTIONAL on par with the originals of Greek Tales
Review: In my youth I was enraptured by the Greek myths. Tales of Honor, Valor and Courage were moving and have survived these thousands of years. Stephen Pressfield has captured the heart of that tale telling with his Gates of Fire. Never have I read a book that has left me so emotionally spent. His quest into courage covers all peoples including all classes and both sexes. From his battle scene epics to his salon discussions and background narratives he delves into the meaning of courage, valor, and honor. His hero, Xeo, gives meaning to kings, warriors, and all who make possible the defending of an ideal. Everyone should read this book.
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Summary: Good in some respects...
Review: In my opinion if this book makes a reader get misty-eyed or start thumping his chest over issues of "fighting for freedom", that is coming from the reader and not the author. The author's handling of Spartan psyche and ethos is simplistic and rather clumsy. The scenes in which women and warriors make speeches about war and sacrifice are laughably stilted and cartoonish, like the things you see in old war B-movies.If one does take this book a something more than an action-thriller (in this regard it is a success), it's an old tale. The "let's go to war, boys!" rah-rah-rah is exactly the message used throughout history by old men to sucker young men into going off to war. Then the young men die or are maimed or can't sleep at night after the war, and the old men sit in their lounge chairs, get fat, vote against services to help the young men, read books and get tears over the "noble sacrifice" of war. Any good, accurate and complete account of war will make you feel horrible. In contrast, this book is a rousing account of battlefield mayhem. Excellent action reading, but that's all.
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Summary: Why we fight.
Review: I will start by saying that this is one of the best books I have ever read, at any time about any subject. I have it on a recommended reading list for my students, and have given it as a gift to several friends. It is not, at the last, a book about war, nor a book about the Spartan 's epic stand at Thermopylae. It is a book about why, down through our history as a species, we have always been able to find men (and women) who will put aside their personal comfort and who and what they love, and stand in the gap to protect these from that which would destroy them, risking all to do so. It is a book that honors those who have made and will in the future make this sacrifice. Contrary to the opinions expressed by other reviewers it does not glorify war, any more than firemen glorify fires. Rather, it explains in glorious terms why we have soldiers, police officers, and others who belong to the fraternity that bears the burden for preserving their societies and ways of life. Being a combat veteran, I found the battle scenes gritty and moving and in some cases a bit reminiscent. The passages on the re-uniting of the "tickets" and shedding of fear brought back memories. The book is a pointed reminder of a fact that has escaped many in our present society .. freedom has NEVER been free. It has always been purchased for the many by the few. And those few ... not war ... most surely need to be honored. As clearly stated by the character Dienekes: "You have never been free, friend ... or you would understand that freedom is purchased not with gold, but with steel." God bless those who have paid that price. This book is their testimonial.
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Summary: An insight into Greek Warriors of old.
Review: This was the first Pressfield book I have read, and I enjoyed it enormously. The battle depictions coupled with his style of writing allowed me to get into the soul of the Spartan, and forced me stay up till the early hours on a number of nights until I finished this book. Despite the mixed reviews coming in for "Tides of War" I will certainly be purchasing that book, if nothing more than to support Pressfield for this excellent effort.
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Summary: As good as it gets in historical fiction!
Review: I chanced on the authors latest work, Tides of War, a few weeks ago. Enjoying that novel, I decided to try the authors earlier work, Gates of Fire. What a find! The insights into Spartan mores, the deptiction of the characters, and in particular, the battle scenes, are among the most memorable I've come across. A long-time devotee of the "Sharpe's" series of novels, this was one of the few books whose narration and attention to detail equalled or exceeded those great tales. I've purchased this book as a gift, and recommended it to anyone I know who enjoys history, or simply a great rousing tale!
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Summary: A Thrilling Evocation of the Spartan Mind
Review: Plato had Sparta in mind when he held forth on the means whereby philosophy and philosophers (and hence statecraft) might tame the appetitive and spirited natures of military men. And Nietzsche, in penetrating the master and slave mentalities of the classical world and in identifying Christianity as Platonism for the Masses, captured and unfolded the martial side of the classical mind with great sensitivity. In an epic context of great empires and desperate battles, Stephen Pressfield has made palpable this psychological universe, that of glory-bound warrior Spartans and their stolid, silently suffering women, at a more popular and accessible--albeit still "literary"--level. Those who have done any mucking about in the sources will find this an almost wholly plausible rendition of the Spartan mind. Apart from his hyper-romanticization of Sparta (in an effort, I surmise, to correct a historical record that consistently points to the cruel, overregimented "Spartan" life) and from seeming to extend, anachronistically, the humanity of Periclean Athens' to Sparta, Pressfield wonderfully evokes a world long lost and provides a long, thrilling--and, in the end, moving--account of the famed, hopeless battle between the Spartan 300 (and allied cities) and Xerxes irresistible Persian might. If you've ever wondered what happens to the surface of a dry-baked battlefield when it is traversed by thousands of warriors, flooded by freshets of blood and piss and guts, for days, you've probably been waiting for this one. Pressfield's writing continually surprises and illuminates, at several levels, in its crisp diction, historical reconstructions, deep characterizations, sharp and unhacknied descriptions of action, and in its overall psychological perceptiveness. Creative history instructors would be well advised to assign Gates of Fire, thereby rousing their students' imaginations and animating their classroom discussions.
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Summary: A Spoonful of sugar . . .
Review: This book was my first foray into Spartan/ Pelloponnese history, and as a history lightweight, rather that any kind of expert, I wholeheartedly recommend Gates of Fire as an excellent read. Personally, I am fascinated by history but will not read a "textbook" to further my knowledge. Pressfield is a spoonful of sugar . . . In summary, the narrative concerns the Battle of Thermopylae, or "Hot Gates", in which 300 Spartans plus a few thousand allies hold off an invading force of over 2 million Persians, giving the rest of Greece time to prepare, and eventually, win the larger battle at Marathon. Pressfield envelopes you in more than the battle, however. By writing in the present tense, you are drawn into the Spartan world, which is presented as one of honor, bravery, and service - unfortunately anachronistic today, I know, but still compelling. Not knowing any better, I would have sworn I just was being told a fascinating story about a truly stunning event. Little did I know that I was also learning. I recommend this book to history lovers or someone just looking for a fascinating story that is written very well.
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