Gates of Fire

Rating:
Summary: I carried this book to WAR...
Review: My husband writes:
As a United States Marine, I am proud of the "warrior traditions" I share with the Spartans: discipline, honor, courage, commitment, dedication, loyalty...these are but a few.

I carried this book with me during Operation Iraqi Freedom, underlining passages and making hundreds of notes in the margins: how I, too, felt grief over the loss of life, how I felt having to fight the enemy, how I felt having to sit and wait, how I felt after the battle...
Each and every account of these Spartans reminded me of what I, too, was experiancing. This book captures the "warrior's tale" better than any work of fiction I have ever read.

The morals and themes of this book can be applied to everyday life and, more, they truly reflect the attitudes and ideas of "the warrior."

Pressfield has written a masterpiece!

Rating:
Summary: Well researched & detailed but long
Review: Definitely a lot of research, although some descriptions are based more on hypotheses than on real historical facts. Nice instructive reading, but why so long?
Cut one third of repetitions, and you would have a 5 stars...

Rating:
Summary: a dose of ancient history that goes down easy
Review: My search for Xenophon on amazon led me to discover this historical novel. It tells the story of the battle of Thermopylae, the pivotal struggle of a tiny force of Greeks against a massive army (according to Herodotus, 2.6 million fighting men, along with probably more than that many attendants) assembled by Xerxes to conquer Greece and then Europe. The Greeks held a narrow mountain pass which was thought to be the only way the Persian army could proceed from Thessaly into what is now central Greece, home of Athens, Sparta, etc. At Thermopylae, the Persians could not use their infantry or take full advantage over their overwhelming numbers. Even granting these advantages of the place chosen to make a stand, the achievement of the Greeks there was stunning, and stands as one of the great military feats of human history. The Greeks slaughtered huge numbers of Persians and delayed Xerxes for several days, only falling when Xerxes learned of an obscure alternative trail that allowed his crack corps of "the ten thousand immortals" to attack the Greeks from behind. The three hundred Spartans and a few allies chose to stay and fight to the bitter end even when they learned of the fatal Persian maneuver in enough time to make an escape. This delay at Thermopylae gave the Greek navy time to defeat (with the help of a couple well-timed storms) the Persian navy, sending Xerxes home without the victory he had been sure of.

Gates of Fire is about the culture of Sparta, that bred the men who led this astounding defence. Pressfield creates a convincing world, with attention to citizens, servants and slaves. In this world, at a time when freedom is continually earned and re-earned with sword and shield,Sparta is admired for its unparalleled military excellence. The stage is set at the beginning of the book, when two children become orphans on their way to the market, thanks to a surprise attack on their city. Greece is a region of independent cities which are continually raiding each other, taking slaves and burning down everything in sight.

Sparta's military society contains elements that are familiar and repugnant to me, but Pressfield explores their psychology and religion sympathetically and insightfully enough that I start to understand their ways, especially set against this background of ever hostile neighbors. Some of the most fascinating passages explore the crucial role of the Spartan women in producing these valiant men. This is Pressfield's modern Western contribution to Spartan lore. To drive home the importance of women in this quintessential military state, the author waits to the end of the book to reveal that the king, Leonidas, chose the men for the fateful mission on the basis of the bravery of their wives and mothers.

The best achievement of the book, however, is the vivid depiction of battle, clearly informed by a lot of careful research as well as a thoughtful imagination.

Before beginning the story, Pressfield quotes Herodotus, naming one Dienekes as the bravest of all the Spartans at Thermopylae. Reader, keep this in mind as you go into the story, and pay special attention to Dienekes, who would not have made it to Thermopylae at all, were it not for an extraordinary intervention by his wife, intending to save the life of a baby.

The book is not absolutely gripping as a thriller in its own right, but if you're interested in the history, it is engaging as it entertains and educates the reader.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: Gates of Fire is an excellent read as historical fiction on two levels - first, it is a well-crafted and told story, and second, it is a good primer on warfare in ancient Greece. Fast-paced and gripping, it is hard to put down. It has all the markings of a good novel: strong, well-defined characters; good dialogue between characters; clear, coherent storylines that tie together nicely.

In addition to being a well-written novel, the book had additional value in that it is instructful to readers who are not classicists but have some knowledge about ancient Greek history. Pressfield did his homework, as he testifies in his acknowledgements at the end of the book. He researched ancient warfare and societal, cultural, and military histories and skillfully weaved these parts into the novel. This lent a sense of authenticity to the book and reinforced its storytelling aspect. For example, there are several passages in Plutarch's On Sparta that are either presented or explained in Gates of Fire, such as the virtues of Spartan women, the education and upbringing of young boys, and other parts of their culture and society.

Possibly the most convincing argument for the book is that readers are likely to want to read more on ancient Greece, and that is of merit to Pressfield's Gates of Fire.

Rating:
Summary: Gates of Fire revie by a history major at Miami U.
Review: Gates of Fire has to be one of the greatest books I have ever read. This book has been one of the major reasons why I am studying history. I can't get enough of the Spartans, and Stephen Pressfield does a great job of taking you through the life of the Spartan warriors, and their families. This is a great book and I will read it over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: A book abt. the embodiment of the motto "SEMPER FIDELIS"
Review: This book is about the Battle of Thermopylae, 480 B.C. There,
300 Spartiate Knights made a stand against a Persian army of
more than 200,000, and perished to the last man, forever faithful
to the laws of their country, which forbade retreat in battle.

Having read a few books by Greek Authors on Ancient Sparta,
I still felt longing for a book which could actually take me
back in time, "beam" me back in time so to speak, to the era
of Ancient Sparta.

Mr. Pressfield's book, not only succeeds in doing exactly that,
but conveys the atmosphere of those Ancient Times so
successfully, that one after having read through the book,
actually feels like one has fought side-by-side with the
Spartiatae in that Epic Battle.

The book is also historically accurate to a stunning degree. For
instance, one of the main heroes of this book, bears the
name "Alexander". Without doubt, most people will be reminded of
the latter day King Alexander Of Macedon, and will wonder how
come and a Spartiate bears a Macedonian name.

The answer is, that both tribes, i.e. the Macedonians and the
Laconians/Spartiatae, were related to each other, both being of
Dorian stock as opposed to the Ionian Athenians, thus Mr.
Pressfield's naming of his hero.

This book also shows why the Spartiate Conventional Phalanx (as
opposed to the Macedonian Non-Conventional Phalanx) is thought
by many to be the finest infantry the world has ever known
until the advent of the Roman Legion.

Mr. Pressfield describes the battle scenes in such a forceful
manner, that they would be almost right away appealing to any
person even remotely connected with the military.

To people in the military, this book will actually penetrate
to the innermost of their beings, and they will emerge after
having went through the book actually feeling that they have
taken part in the action.

You have been warned; people that started reading through this
book late in the afternoon, were so captivated that ended up
going straight to work early in the morrow having failed to put
down the book until they went through the last page...

Quite frankly, I do not know of any other English book being
so widely popular in the Greek Armed Forces like this one is,
and quite justifiably so.

A deep bow to Mr. Steven Pressfield, a true Master Wordsmith.

Rating:
Summary: As bloody as Saving Private Ryan, with a similar message
Review: To my Greek friends, the battle at Thermopylae is as fresh a memory as is the battle of Gettysburg to an American. This event from the 5th century BC is ideal for presenting dedication as a virtue.

The story itself grips the reader early enough: one man explains how the Spartans trained for war, then recounts their terrible stand at the gates of Thermopylae where a mere 300 of them held back 20,000 Persians and died doing so.

The novel explores the soldier's mind, or more properly his mindset. The total dedication to training, to winning not so much over the enemy as over oneself, and ultimately the total dedication to the mission, even at the cost of one's life. The novel evokes this dedication, rather than thoughtless fanaticism.

To drive this theme home, Pressfield draws very bloody scenes; the gore spills off the page into our laps and we get an inkling of the Spartans's toil.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Vivid Story of Spartan Warriors
Review: One thing that grips my attention when I came upon this is the synopsis of three hundred Spartan warriors holding off the invincible tide of million Persian soldiers almost to the last man at the narrow pass called Gates of Fire. I was so interested and absorbed that I read through the whole book almost in the one sitting and was almost tearfully upset at any distraction.
The thing that amazes me most of all is how Persian almost had to pay more than twenty thousand men just to slaughter three hundred to the last man. Persian would have spent much more men if three hundred Spartans has the constant supply of more weapons and if Spartans' weapons have not become broken and dull after seven days of furious fighting.
The story of this main character and his friends or comrades proved the Spartans to be the truest warriors ever beheld in the history of Earth, to me at least.
Naturally, I would feel sad at the end of three hundred Peers but these men has lived their lives to fullest and they did it so willingly for their country, which is way worth fighting for. These valors were almost repeated again and again througout the history, like for instance at the battle of Alamo, where 187 defenders, with famous Davy Crockett among them, were killed to a last man.
Steven Pressfield presents a remarkable way of filling the book with dramatic excitement and thrilling experiences while revealing the harsh reality of Spartan soldier's life. It is worth reading for anybody, regardless of reader lacking or having the knowledge of Ancient Greek history. I would say this is the best epical story on Ancient Greek.

Rating:
Summary: Corage in battle
Review: I found his book by accident while I was searching for information on the Medeo Persian Empire. The heros of this great and pivotal battle have now come alive for me. The writing is evocative without being sappy. I have ordered Steven Pressfields's other books and look forward to reading them. By the end of the book although I knew they would all die I was extremly touched by Mr. Pressfield's portrait of their deaths. No long drawn out overdone heroic behavior. Just simple courage in the face of insurmontable odds. In the end War is hell and we get the picture because of the loss of such men of character.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT HISTORICAL FICTION
Review: Could'nt put it down. Get it. (The rest of reviewers has already said it all). One of the Top Ten ever Historical Novels. Enjoy.
The build up of the plot and the battle itself are masterfully crafted, hoplite combat was a really HOMERIC experience, and you can actually FEEL the blood&sweat&tears of CLOSE COMBAT (no shooting wnen you see the whites of their eyes nonsense there!, or to be really politically incorrect everybody understood what the meaning of "taking care of the wounded" was at that time and believe it POW was probably the sound of a helmet/head been crushed... A nasty/brutal period of warfare (does the term "evolution" really applies to warfare???).
A VERY GOOD ACOUNT OF AN HISTORICAL BATTLE IS A REALLY RARE PIECE OF NARRATIVE.