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Summary: I was dripping with the spent fluids of life...
Review: Being in the front rank I was driven forward by the push of my comrade's shield in my back. The crush of bodies and shields caused my left arm to give way and yet I pushed forward with my left shoulder buried in my shield. My right arm, my only free limb, plunged and plunged overhand my spear into the faces, throats and chests of Persian Immortals. My arm was being torn by their final blows. The enemy line was giving way... one final push and the day would be ours... ...and then I fell off the sofa, book still in hand, much to the amusement of my wife. This is a fine vicarious treatment of battle, taking its place alongside: "Killer Angels," "Braveheart," "Gettysburg," "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Face Of Battle." There may be better works on the historical context, but "Gates of Fire" provides the emotional and personal aspects of why the Spartans and Thespiaens fought to the death at Thermopylae. A thrilling read.
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Summary: Remarkable insight into a uniquely martial people.
Review: Pressfield has done some fine research not only into the military and social history of the period and the peoples, but he provides an unusually perceptive insight into a uniquely martial people, the Spartans. In Gates of Fire, Pressfield has set a standard of hoplological understanding and excellence that few specialist non-fiction writers achieve, never mind novelists. We congratulate him on an excellent piece of work on the Greek warrior, the hoplite.
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Summary: If there was one book I would buy in '99 it would be Gates
Review: Move over Homer, Pressfield is the next oracle of Delphi. For those of you who loved studying ancient history this is the one.... its definately more exciting than any dusty textbook, or Stephen King novel.
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Summary: A wonderful read
Review: Makes me wish I had a delete button for my (brain) memory so I could enjoy it all over again. Mr Pressfield has brought Sparta back to life, and as for myself, I will never hear the adjective "spartan" in the same context again. Who owns the movie rights?
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Summary: One of the best of modern literature.
Review: Magnificiently written. One of the best of modern literature. I wish all books were written with such emotion. It brings life to each of the characters like I have never read before. Most definately a story worthy of Homer! I reccomend this book to everyone.
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Summary: The definitive story valor and self-sacrifice.
Review: "Gates of Fire" is a novel that breathes dimension and texture into a period of history that is too often portrayed as distant and almost alien to the modern reader.I have read more than a small number of books on ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta. Few, if any, fires the imagination and uplifts the spirit like this novel. Every incident in this book is a well-crafted component used to assemble a new and more complete view of the ancient Spartans.They become more human and even more admirable through Pressfield's depiction. Athens compares second rate to this city-state "made of men and not brick and stone". The story flows so well it is almost impossible to put this book down. The most depressing aspect of the novel is the conclusion this reader came to after its completion - the incredible valor and self-sacrifice exhibited by the "300" at Thermoplylae might be as extinct as their city. I hope not. Read this book! It will tell you far more about the debt we owe these people than a bundle of history books. I cannot recommend this book too highly.
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Summary: Ancient Greek in Modern Language
Review: I became interested in the greco-persian wars about a month ago and the only books I could find on it were basically historical reference books with no feel for the characters. While browsing on amazon I saw a summary of Gates of Fire and got a copy. Unlike other books I've read on the subject this one made people out of the characters instead of flat shapes that have no feelings or personal problems. From the first page Pressfield's characters seem alive, with you there witnessing the events along with them. The conflict between Polynikes and Alexandros shows that Grecians, while sticking to their honor system, have predujuces and dislikes although they would gratefully give their lives for each other in combat. I believe that Pressfield's book brings new enjoyment into a great tale. This book is the best war story I have ever read and look forward to other books published by him.
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Summary: Great battle imagery
Review: Absolutely one the best battle epics I've read.Great characters and an inspiring story line that is almost unthinkable in today's political enviroment.Makes a Texan almost forget the story of the Alamo.The kind of book that makes you want to research in more detail the history behind the story. This would make a GREAT movie (Braveheart without the skirts) My only request is that if a movie is made PLEASE do not cast Leonardo DiCaprio or Adam Sadler in it.
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Summary: A magnificent gift to today's Spartans.
Review: My wife and I are grateful to you for your exhaustive research and deeply insightful portrayal of the Spartan ethos. Unlike the Lady Paraleia, my tears rolled as I read it. My vision was often blurred but I couldn't put it down. As you appropriately report, the battle at Thermopylae stands as the one fitting memorial of the Spartans. My father came from a little village in Sparta called Loggastra. He left his parents and sisters at twelve years of age to join his brothers in America. I can't fathom how he even got to the boat. It took us eight hours by bus sixty years later up and down those madly winding mountain roads when we took the trip thirty years ago. There was no bus for my father. My mother's parents, who met and married in America, also came from villages in Sparta; Soxa and Agios Yiannis. My wife's mother's parents also came from villages in Sparta; Anavriti (at the very top of Mount Taygetos), and Mistras. Her father came from Smyrna, Turkey (now named Izmir). I've jokingly told our son that he is 75% Spartan. It was very important for us to take our son to Greece in the summer of '97. We wanted him to see Thermopylae and to be there when he did. We wanted him to see and touch the ground of the villages of his ancestors. We live a comfortable life now but we wanted to remind him and ourselves of the sacrifices made (including his own), that date back thousands of years, and to hear the heartbeat of the people who made them. Gates of Fire makes an admirable contribution to that end. Thank you.
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Summary: A rivoting tale of war and, yes, love.
Review: I have always been facinated by historical novels and have read many. I would site only 3 as so rich in story, character and authenticity that I would rate them as masterpieces of the genre. "The Long Ships by Frans Bengtsson", "Aztec" by Gary Jennings, and "Gates of Fire". I couldn't read this and would not recommend reading this in a single sitting. It is frequently too intense, the battle depictions especially. The 300 Spartans marched into a battle they knew they would lose. Their motivations for doing so became clear to me as I read the book. I also gained insight in ancient Spartan society, an enigma even in its own time. I believe Pressfield's objective is to unravel some of this puzzle - demonstarted by Xerses' curiousity over the story being recorded bu the captured Spartan. Dienekes, the Spartan captain, in giving his antonym for "fear", reveals a way to understand, to some degree, such acts of sacrifice as was the Battle of Thermoplylae. I won't forget it.
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