Rating: 
Summary: i liked it
Review: i really took a liking to ancient greece after i had a class on western civilization last year. this goes into the war, not entirely factual though, and gives you a good idea of what took place. and the characters were great. it really makes you want to keep reading
Rating:
Summary: Not so much fiction as it is a history lesson....
Review: It troubles me to give criticisms to a book I enjoyed so well, but I feel compelled to speak my mind about Tides of War.Unlike other reviewers I have not read Gates of Fire first, so I have no other Pressfield to compare this to...and overall find it to be a very, very well written book, despite the criticisms I have to offer. Steven Pressfield has chronicled the major skirmishes of the Peloponnesian War. And with a 27+ year war there is a lot to tell. Soldiers didn't drop into an area, fight, then go home because it ended 2 days later...like in the 21st century. In ancient Greece, the soldiers enlisted, fought, retired from service, then enlisted again, and fought for many more years. They went for months without pay, days without food or water, and yet for the sake of the battle, and the cause, they endured. Some, because there simply was no other way to earn a living. To them, the promise of an 'eventual' bag of pay was better than nothing at all. The atrocities committed to soldiers at this time are also engrossing, as it is hard in the 21st century to imagine the things they were made to suffer at that time. Cast into pits with rotting corpses; being literally branded as slaves if you surrendered; the list is endless of torments that soldiers lived through, or died as a result of. For his attention to detail with the battles, with the armament used, with the places, and cast of characters, I give Steven Pressfield an A+......but the following criticisms also apply to my overall feeling of the book: Criticism #1 that I have with the book, while beautifully written, is that it reads far more like a textbook than a novel. Structure and format follow a logical chronology, but each battle scene, while descriptive and engrossing, has more of a scholarly than literay feel to it. Pressfield seems to have captured the technical aspects of this lengthy, bloody war, but has skimped on the passions, emotions, and savagery that carried the Greeks to and through wars. Criticism #2; The cover of this book reads 'A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War'...and for me was reminiscent of the book 'Daughter of Troy' by Sarah Franklin...this story is ultimately about Polemides, also known as Pommo, and the journey his life takes as he enters and exits the war itself. I found very little insight into the life of Alcibiades...although the description of the war was relatively indepth and satisfactory. The story itself turns on Polemides having occasional interaction with Alcibiades, as the latter weaves in and out of public favor during the way...but ultimately it is Polemides' tale that is told, not Alcibiades'. There are two other Steven Pressfield novels written about Ancient Greece for me to indulge in, and I intend to do just that. However, I do hope that in the other novels, Mr. Pressfield has paid more homage to the keen minds of the Greeks, and the whys and wherefores of their actions, not just the actions themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Work
Review: Pressfield's choice of words and grammar captures the reader and creates the proper mood for the narrative. Again, the voice is made credible by using a double narrative technique in which one legitimizes the other. One can't really compare this work to "Gates of Fire" as the story covers very different events and greater time periods. The objectives of the characters are multi-faceted and change frequently throughout the story. Instead of the "us vs. them" theme in "Gates of Fire" the parties in this story are all equally unscrupulous as to their motives and methods. Pressfield overcomes this dilemma by good character development: he focuses a lot on describing what lies behind their motivations and so gives legitimacy to their actions to which the reader can relate. As in "Gates of Fire" Pressfield's main narrator is the voice of a common man who is rough and tough who has nothing to lose: this makes the character a little more approachable from the modern perspective. Overall, a great book. Pressfield is truly a modern Homer and has revived the form of the classical epic.
Rating:
Summary: Not to be compared to Gates of Fire
Review: While "Gates of Fire" no doubt set a new standard for ancient historical fiction, Pressfield's follow-up "Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Pelopponesian War" is a fine novel all its own. It is a different type of novel than his debut novel and should be considered as such on its own merits. While "Gates of Fire" is a gripping account of courage, honor, and sacrifice in one of the most pivotal battles of antiquity, "Tides of War" is an entirely different sort of novel, one that devotes not so much on war (the Pelopponesian War only provides the backdrop of the story) but focuses on one of the greatest statesman (after Pericles) of Athens. Comparing this to Pressfield's debut novel is like comparing apples to oranges. In some ways, "Tides of War" is superior to "Gates of Fire." The character development is more complex and, while some of us may detest the political back-stabbing and Machiavellian (or should I say Alcibiadeian or Lysanderian) machinations of Greek politics, this novel nonetheless paints a vivid picture of Greece during the Pelopponesian War. Just because it's not your cup of tea doesn't make it a bad book. I admit, this book took me much longer to finish than "Gates of Fire." Even so, it proved to be just as indelible. Alcibiades, for all his flaws of character (shackled by 'Necessity'), is the classic character of Greek tragedy. Written like a personal memoir alternating between Polemides's and Jason's viewpoints, Pressfield once again gave his story a poignancy few authors could match. Pressfield's command of the English language is once again peerless; this book is beautiful and poetic like a modern-day classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Ruthless personal ambition
Review: Where Pressfield's other Greek book, Gates of Fire, was about thoughtful devotion and total dedication, Tides of War is about boundless lust for power. Alcibiades, the novel's main object of study, never relents. He strives for more and more and takes it, until there's nothing left to take. Then his benefectors and followers realize something's wrong and Alcibiades must find another venue to plunder. He's very charming, but we the readers know better than the characters in the novel, and we never trust him or really like him. I couldn't figure out what Pressfield wanted to show with this novel. The message I got (ruthless ambition leading to disaster) seems trite. Alcibiades's continual rejoinder that he simply follows the goddess of Necessity, just doesn't jibe. Tides of War has none of the nobility that we find in Gates of Fire Still, I give it one star for the writing, and one star for the period piece. Thucydides beckons.
Rating:
Summary: The Fire is Out.
Review: I bought this one in the wake of "Gates of Fire". I did finish this one with an effort, it is boring and the lapse of time is too much wide to give any deep to the characters (some of them you end really loathing...).
Sorry, A MISS (but for the poignant descriptions of naval combat).
Rating: 
Summary: Eerily Relevant to Our Times
Review: While reading this book, I was pretty taken with how relevant this book is with in the times we live in. Oh, and there is a pretty damn good story to boot.. This book centers around a controversial Athenian named Alcibiades. Alcibiades is truly a product of Athens, he is full of contradictions yet you still have to love the guy and hate him all the same. In "Gates of Fire" Pressfield taught us about the Spartans and their ways set in the backdrop of the battle of Thermopylae. "Tides of War" teaches us about the complexities if Athens set in the backrop of the Peloponnessian War. The Athens in this book has many similarities to the United States. During this time, Alcibiades and other Athenians turned Athens in to a polarizing force in Greece, much like what the US is doing at our point in history. Many Greeks cities viewed the fact that Athens had built an impregnable wall around the City as arrogance and even isolationism. I found this to be a bit like the Bush Administration's desire to build a missile shield. As for the book itself, I think most will find that it hits its stride late, however it's worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: A Greek Tragedy
Review: Allright, so it's not " I, Claudius " (10 stars) or " Quo Vadis " (Ditto). In fact, it's not even as well written as the author's previous home run: " Gates of Fire " , principally because the events which led 300 Spartans to the most heroic stand in history were simpler and easier to build to a climax. Here Pressfield is more ambitious. His subject is The Peloponnesian War--All 27 years of it--told in flashbacks by one main narrator who happens to be sharing the same jail as Socrates, and who is also awaiting execution. Moreover, Socrates, Pericles, Lysander, Cyrus; in short, ANYBODY who was anybody of importance gets into the novel. It could have been horribly crowded or slow paced, but Pressfield pulls it off quite well. Including a difficulty he faces here which he didn't have to worry about in " Gates " ; describing naval battles to those of us for whom 'port' is a wine and would probably shout: " For the love of God, turn LEFT! " , in a nautical emergency.
Row your own Tireme. . . The heart of the book is the ideal of the next best thing humanity had to a real Camelot: Athens at the height of her glorious brilliance and homicidal imperialism. Athens as embodied in her foremost son, the one and only, Alcibiades. He was the world's first Superstar. A stunningly handsome aristocratic libertine, alternatively worshipped and loathed for his talents as much as for his vices. History's judgement?
A military genius who never lost a single battle, a consummate politician, a devoted pupil of Socrates, a narcissistic peacock, a recklessly brave adventurer---and a traitor. He jumped ship and went over to Sparta, betrayed Sparta back to Athens, deserted Athens and offered his services to Persia, etc.
But Pressfield does an excellent job narrating how the assembled democracy was given to fits of oratorical passion which resulted in condemning public men to exile or death. You simply were not a major player in Athens unless you had been sentenced at least once. The assembly regularly repented like clockwork, which helped exiles but didn't do much for corpses. Alcibiades had no intention of suffering execution at the hands of fools. He had to come home to a hero's welcome, or not at all. So off he went to Sparta or Thrace or wherever a cunning mastermind would be valued by fellow aristocrats, until his countrymen remembered they loved him. The novel is a paean to greatness, but the author constantly reminds us that great men must, of necessity, have great flaws. How they ultimately destroy the noblest men or the noblest of nations. A tragedy in the form of an epic story. Good reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Gates of Fire Redux?
Review: While I found this novel to be interesting, I think that it is a bit on the heavy side of historical fiction. This is especially evident when compared to "Gates of Fire" (another Pressfield book). "Tides of War" is again told from the point of view of a a witness to greatness. . .but, unlike "Gates of Fire" the narrator is too far removed from the story. With this lack of connection, the author is forced to fill space and the story loses itself winding through Athenian politics. The author seems to revel in the interminable plotting of the Greek city-state. This is not to say that the book is bad. As I showed with my 3 star rating, this book is an excellent example of this genre. However, a new reader to this field should perhaps begin with Gates of Fire or perhap's Margaret George's "Cleopatra."
Rating:
Summary: Tides of War
Review: I am very fond of Pressfield's work --both Gates of Fire and The Last Amazon -- but this novel, in my opinion, represents a bumpy spot. Pressfield likes to use framing devices, and he generally makes them work well, but here they become confusing. The voices of Polemides, the narrator to whom Polemides tells his story, and at least one other character are used, and they're indistinguishable. This means that characterization, never a huge Pressfield strength, is lacking, and it adds a degree of confusion. Pressfield, in this novel, had a vastly complex historical situation to work with. It's hard to criticize the plot for the many turns and twists, for the fact that the reader loses track of who's on what side, what Alcibiades' current standing is, and who Polemides is working for, when the reality was just about that chaotic. What it means, though, is that the essential narrative thread tends to get lost. Long expositions of political minutia and philosophy slow the text considerably. Alcibiades, rather than an incredibly charismatic troublemaker, comes across as a blowhard whenever he opens his mouth (or pen) in this novel. It's hard to see how he bamboozled so many people. Pressfield's great strength is the representation of battle, and that does appear here with the Syracuse campaign. As ever, he combines elevated diction with soldier slang to create a unique and gripping tone. Though this book did not work well for me, I believe in the author and feel that he is among the most interesting historical fiction writers currently publishing.
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