Rating: 
Summary: Perfect book for the intelligent reader
Review: This book is an excellent antidote to the wordy junk that often passes for fiction today. Pressfield has written an engrossing novel that actually requires the reader to THINK while she/he is reading. The story is absolutely riveting and will give you a great understanding of Greek and Persian culture.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for the paperback
Review: I read a hardcover library copy of Gates of Fire back in May and want to get a paperback copy for my library. This book is fantastic, it takes the reader back to ancient Greece in vivid style. I rank it even higher than "The Triumph and the Glory" for truly inspirational passages of epic courage and selfless sacrifice for one's comrades and homeland. The stand of the Spartans at Thermopylae is a timeless example of bravery and Pressfield recaptures the terrible drama of that crucial battle with eloquence and style.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Engaging
Review: Without question, this is one of the finest books that I have ever read - military history or otherwise. When I go back and re-read certain sections, which I do frequently, I still get chills and feel the excitement of the battles, agoge training, and life in ancient Sparta.I hope they do not try to make this into a movie, as no film could ever capture this tale - this is a story that is best seen in your mind, not with your eyes. Bottom line - you will not be able to put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: I have always been drawn to the Battle of Thermopylae, and had harbored fantasies about writing a historical novel about it- I am happy Mr. Pressfield has beaten me to it. His writing is excellent, occasionally bordering on Homeric, and he has done a masterful job of recreating ancient Sparta. I never failed to be moved by the characters, and can only marvel at how vibrant everything is. This book puts Cold Mountain and every other recent piece of historical fiction I have read to shame.
Rating:
Summary: An epic novel of leadership, commitment and community
Review: This book is mislabeled as a history. Its themes are alive not only in the mythic tales of yore but in the corridors of modern corporate life! The struggle of true leadership - note the passages in Gates of Fire that descride King Leonidas and his simplicity and accessibility. The reciprocal love and admiration from not only his Spartan warrioirs, but their wives as well. Revel in page after page of the finer points of commitment and passion. The core of a warrior community that is based on embracing and conquering fear by learning the opposite of fear - love. Capture the essense of this greater love that binds community in the grand descriptions of the great clash with the mercenaries of the Persian Empire. Experience the love that allows one to lay down one's life for others and for a way of life. I think this is required reading for all leaders and modern corporate warriors...I guess you can tell that I liked it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very well done.
Review: Gates of Fire is a masterful recreation in historical fiction form of the desperate Battle of Thermopylae. I'd recently finished reading The Triumph and the Glory, another novel I'd highly recommend, and thought it would be heard to top, but Pressfield has with Gates of Fire. Both great novels, read them!
Rating:
Summary: Look in the Mirror
Review: "You will face your own fears. Any sense that you are somebody special in the community of warriors is immediately crushed to dust. I will read this book again and again as a reference point in terms of personal character and commitment to excellence when it counts."
Rating:
Summary: An incredible story, not just of war, but also of life
Review: I found "Gates of Fire" purely by accident. I was searching for information on the battle of Thermopylae and followed a link to the review of "Gates of Fire". After reading the review i HAD to have this book. so much so that it was my request for Christmas and my birthday. I finally recieved the book.....and was lucky enough to have a slow night at work. I read "Gates of Fire" in one sitting. I was overwhelmed at the content. This will be one of those books that I go back and reread on a reguler basis.....as soon as it is returned to me.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: Great story, good pacing, the book never bogs down, and most importantly characters I come to care about.
Rating:
Summary: This is a novel of a warrior culture not of war.
Review: A warrior culture is not "Monday Nite Football". It was the profession of men, women, and children. Ironically, it made the glory of Athens, purchased with the leisure of its silver mines possible. This novel is a brillant representation of the reason why death and defeat are not absolutes for the virtue of courage in arms. Renault's Theseus and the Kagen of Sandhurst are united in a glimpse behind the "mask of command" of an ancient warrior cult in Sparta. And, even when the command is "Stand and Die!" we come away with an insight into the families and women of Sparta as well as their men. At the end I think you can see the kindredship between the Cheyenne 'Dog Soldier', the Spartan knight, and the draw of the special forces in today's military. This is an outstanding and poised reading by Jacobi working out of a masterpiece of research and writing by Pressfiled. And between the valorous act in history, we can see why military decisions are ultimately political ones. This is a lesson we are still learning when we allow the decisions to be isolated from us by the opinions of experts.
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