Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and surprisingly approachable
Review: This is not my typical genre, nor my usual delivery format. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem (if you can call 4 long-play cassettes little :). The characters are all very approachable, very well developed, and highly sympathetic. The story has depth, texture, and detail that sharpens the focus without tiring the reader. Jacobi's narration is outstanding. Throw this in your car, and give yourself something to look forward to besides the evening traffic.
Rating: 
Summary: Breathtakingly Ambitious Tale of War
Review: Pressfield's massive work is not an easy read, but, boy, is it impressive. I knew virtually nothing about Alcibiades when I began this, and by the end (I admit, I kept putting it down and picking it back up again) I, too, was a fan of this maddeningly charismatic, visionary military genius, who was revered and hated by his own people (often at the same time). Pressfield writes some of the most vivid, breathtaking, terrifying battle scenes ever recorded, and the final image of the book is at once lyrical and ominous. The speeches of Alcibiades are worth the price of the book by themselves (it's too bad Pressfield didn't write the movie "Gladiator" - it would have been a lot more interesting). While much of the book is uneven, and Pressfield's style sometimes gets in the way of the story, much of the book is stirring and brilliant; and well worth the effort of reading.
Rating: 
Summary: was ancient history really this boring!
Review: Even the best tasting food looses it taste after a re-heat of the re-heat...of the re-heat. This is exactly what happens with The Tides of War. What should have been a magnificent re-enactment of the narrative of Gates of Fire, gets boiled into mush and misunderstanding in Pressfield's latest telling of ancient Greece. Basically the story is about the life of Alcibiades as told through Polymides, as told by him to his grandson Jason,and - yawn - as related to us through a written record. Hold it - I'm lost already and it's only page three! I'm sorry Mr Pressfield, but my brain hit the red-line and I gave in after two hundred pages. I never normally give up on a book (that's this expensive), but you just left me cold with your fourth person, remote and uninvolving 'lecture-style' narrative. The only good point is, this ain't a book written for celluloid. It's far too incomprehensible and oblique for that. Maybe a 12-hour mini-series. Finally, the story is peppered with unpronouncible ancient Greek names, ancient Greek places and bits of ancient Greek demos lawdom - and what's wrong with that you say in a book that's about, erh, ancient Greece? Well, everything, if it constantly distracts the willing reader from the art of storytelling! Or am I just being one of those terribly ignorent, everyday 21st century bookophiles who just loves a darn good straightforward read....(but that's exactly what Gates of Fire was)! The blurb on the back cover says Mr Pressfield is writing a third installment set in this extraordinary period of time. Please excuse me if I beg, borrow or steal that book first...before I actually waste money on buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling History If Not Always Compelling Fiction
Review: As much a paean to as an condemnation of war and politics, this often compelling novel uses the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War and its central figures, particularly Alcibiades and Socrates, to explore the Greek concepts of demos and empire, individual responsibility and freedom, and the role of necessity upon destiny, by extension reflecting and offering commentary upon our own contemporary notions of these ideas as inherited from our antecedents in Greek culture. As much an exploration of philosophy or the role of the "great man" as a force of history as a chronicle of combat and events, this novel steps back repeatedly from its ostensible subject of warfare and political conflict to examine and contrast the underlying motives and beliefs driving its central characters, each representing a differing if related view upon the epochal events shaping their lives, all the while begging the question whether they or the events themselves---what Alcibiades calls necessity---are creating the history that follows. In praise of the author, Pressfield never completely answers the questions he poses, leaving it to the reader to meditate upon and draw his or her own conclusions (though ironically enough it is the secondary if continually reoccurring character of Telamon that closes the author's narrative-draw from that what you will). Admirably recreating the world of Sparta and the Delian League, the reader is at once struck by the differences and similarities between the ancient Greek world and our own, and the author successfully casts a light, not only upon the debates and intrigues of the areopagus, but the more shadowy, less documented ethos of the Thracian plain. His reenactment of the siege of Syracuse, as well as the assault upon Ephesus, is gripping and descriptively unparalleled. The suffering of the defeated at Syracuse, as well as Polemides learning of the loss of his second wife, among many moments in the book, are poignantly rendered. And the author's choice of presenting his tale through the reminiscences of different participants, both verbally and through letters, is cleverly done, allowing the author to touch both broadly and individually upon over twenty-seven years of climactic events within the relatively short span of just over four hundred pages. However, it is this structure of composition that at times places a distance between the reader and the narrative, the shift between characters and events occasionally losing immediacy, as some previous reviewers have suggested, episodically and emotionally distancing the reader from the fictional elements of the story, through the artifice of its narration reminding the reader of the author's presence, failing to efface or entirely disguise those moments where the author wishes to instruct or intellectually weigh the import of his characters' actions or beliefs. At other times it becomes apparent that certain episodes are not provided so much to embellish the story as to provide a historical framework. While perhaps necessary, the introduction of this information is often done through the compositional asides of letters or digressions on the part of Jason to provide background to Polemides' narrative, inherently interrupting the fictional development of the latter's story, as well as creating moments of exposition analogous to "meanwhile, elsewhere..." Considering the scope of the story the author is attempting to unfold within the brief compass of four hundred pages, I am unsure what other avenues the author could have turned to in order to manage the historical framework of his narrative. And it must be said that within this context he is for the most part successful. Nonetheless, this success resides more in the detail of historical reconstruction than fictional creation, leading the reader periodically to lose emotional or imaginative involvement with the story, creating a sense of detachment from both events and the characters. For this reason I have given this novel, as fiction, four stars instead of a full five, though, in all fairness, balancing the author's accomplishments in historical reconstruction, skill of presentation and conceptual intention against the occasional fictional displacement of character and story occurring within the story, this tale easily merits four and a half stars, and is one of the better works of historical fiction encountered over the last several years. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially accurate and well researched, don't let my qualms deter you.
Rating: 
Summary: Complex and rewarding
Review: This book focuses on stories related by an elder narrator serving under and befriending the Greek, Alcibiades. Alcibiades and his moxie are both boon and bane for Athens. Pressfield seems to strike a good balance interweaving didactic and inspiration for the reader. Alcibiades' mastery of the human condition captures you in a way nothing else can. Whether Alciabiades represents the height or the depth of human nature, one could debate. It might be said he represented both. Great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment of the Millennium (so far)
Review: I should have spotted it when I noticed that every piece of critical praise quoted on the covers and inside were for his previous book, Gates of Fire. I just figured that as Tides of War was new, it didn't have such a wide reading as its excellent predecessor. Big mistake. Having read Gates of Fire, and having thought of it as the best book of the late 90's, I was desperate to get a hold of Tides, no matter what the cost. And, like a lot of new late 90's authors (including Alex Garland), the first book was a freak of nature, the second was the cold hard reality. They say everyone has a book in them; it seems Gates of Fire was that book for Pressfield, because Tides of War does not even register on a scale of one to ten where Gates is ten. Which is a shame, because the blurb on the back of the book made it sound really good: 'One man. Two armies. The fate of the ancient world in the balance'. 'Author of the Number One Bestseller Gates of Fire'. Oops, there's the clue... The trouble with Tides is that nothing (repeat: NOTHING) happens. It is structurally similar to Gates, in that it is the tale told by a scribe, who was told it by a person, who was told it by an observer of the 'star', Alcibiades. What is different, however, is that most of this novel, rather than being narrative prose, is extended philosophical speeches given by various people, so no matter how you cut it, it's just a series of lectures interspersed with brief commentaries of war. Gates took a quarter of a book to tell of a single six-day battle; Tides, with 27-years-worth of conflicts to use, decides to focus on one in depth (which actually has nothing to do with Alcibiades), and then glosses over the rest ('we won a battle here, another there, blah, blah, I can't really be bothered to say anything about them'). So, first of all, there is an obvious lack of spectacle. Secondly, in Gates, we knew the whole book built up to the Battle of Thermopylae; Tides builds up to the less than spectacular death of Alcibiades. It builds to an anticlimax rather than a climax, and suffers because of it. Furthermore, it is hardly believable that reams and reams of dialogue spoken by Alcibiades, Lion, Lysander and the rest could have been a) remembered by Polemides and told to Jason, b) remembered by Jason and told to his grandson, and c) remembered by Jason's grandson, and written down for us to read. It is also hard to believe that the person behind the gripping, beautifully written, brilliantly characterised, superbly paced Gates of Fire could write this slow, droll, boring, undramatic and ultimately unmemorable tripe. Proof, if ever it was needed, that the One-Hit-Wonder phenomenon is not limited to pop music, Tides of War is a book to be avoided. Gates of Fire remains one of the best books ever written, perhaps even better when you realise Pressfield won't ever produce anything anywhere near as good. I gave Tides of War two stars because in places, perhaps a snippet here, a sentence there, you read something of the same Pressfield who wrote Gates of Fire. There again, finding those lines hidden amongst the rest is a nightmare. Tides of War is by far the disappointment of the millennium. And if he reads this, Steven, what happened?!? Was the call of Hollywood distracting you?
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional historical fiction
Review: If 'historical fiction' exists to illuminate the dark and dusty rooms of the past, then Pressfield's Tides of War succeeds admirably in capturing the fall of Athens for modern minds. With scholarly attention, Pressfield deftly wends his way through the complexities of ancient Greek history while never bogging the story down in detail or destroying it with artificial asides. I give him credit both for avoiding the traps of excessive romance (and even outright fantasy) into which so much historical fiction seems to fall and for weaving an interesting, well-paced tale from the complex skein of ancient Greek history. However, the Tides of War never quite succeeded on the dramatic and emotional levels for me. Despite the tragedies that befall his very human characters, I remained somewhat detached from them throughout my reading of the book, never quite feeling the emotional grip of, say, 'The Killer Angels'. I only point this up to weigh the book on the 'history vs. fiction' scales. From the standpoint of action and adventure, the book holds up, but its human voices somehow just don't measure up. If you enjoy reading history for its own sake, you will likely enjoy the Tides of War at least as much as I did. However, if your preference in historical fiction stresses moving personal stories, then you may find Tides of War slightly cold. All in all, I give the book five stars because 4-1/2 is not an option and four stars simply doesn't do justice to Pressfield's feat in transforming this complex subject into a literary epic.
Rating:
Summary: Rescuing this book from Newt
Review: I decided I would have to write a review of this book after reading Newt Gingrich's. I came away from this very good book with an entirely different impression, and with the benefit of already having read Thucydides' and Xenophon's histories. Athens was a stark warning to America about what happens when cultures tear themselves apart. Let's remember which side declared cultural war in America, much as the demagogues declared it in Athens. After the Peloponnesian War, Athens recovered from its defeat and kept a vigorous democracy going until it was consumed by the Macedonians' ascendancy. This points out the historical fallacy of those who decry Athenian "mob rule:" Athens did as well or better than any city of ancient Greece so long as it adhered to Aristotle's observation that "a state is not made up of so many men, but of so many KINDS of men." Athens performed amazing feats of statehood, leading the Greeks to victory in the Persian wars (little thanks to the Spartans, who were always claiming to be delayed); but Athens was ruined by those within its walls who sought to win "final victory" over their Athenian adversaries, much the same as Newt tried to proclaim a "Republican Revolution" and compare it to Fukuyama's "End of History." The city's fate was also a warning about what happens when states maintain their own xenophobic sovereignty at the expense of greater cooperation. By the time Phillip II led his phalanx into the city-states, they were all so weak and uncooperative that he rode right over them. Athens may have been a hegemon, but the isolationists of Greece were ultimately responsible for the death of Hellenistic freedom. That sobering lesson belongs on the dinner-plates of the Senate Foreign Affairs committee's GOP members. As to the book itself, I found it a bit clumsy in spots but I enjoyed it almost as much as "Gates of Fire." Pressfield should turn away from the temptation to make his tales this complex--simpler is better. There are too many framing stories layered one on the other in this novel. Part of the appeal of "Gates" was that it was really so simple--the recounting of a man's past. But I do hope that he will see fit to treat on other eras of ancient Greek history, including the Macedonian wars and the "March Upcountry."
Rating:
Summary: Different from "Gates of Fire" but still excellent
Review: Readers who enjoyed Pressfield's amazing novel "The Gates of Fire", which chronicled the Battle of Thermopylae, will find themselves in for an abrupt change of gears. That's not to say "Tides of War" isn't good, it is. And that's not to say that Pressfield's signature brand of ancient combat isn't encountered, it is. Where the books differ is that "Gates of Fire" was the history of one specific event. The novel led to an inexorable conclusion. Regardless of the paths the characters took on their way there, the ending was never in doubt. "Tides of War", on the other hand, is the tale of one man, Alcibiades, and how he shaped ancient Greece, and how he was shaped by it. In the absence (or even in the presence) of extensive knowledge of ancient Greece, the reader is left to wander through a morass of scandal and ambition. And, since this is a novel, there is plenty of room for side-plots and embellishments. While "Gates of Fire" was a novel Tom Clancy would write about ancient Greece, "Tides of War" is a novel that John LeCarre would write about ancient Greece. It is full of intrigue and back-biting, played out across the backdrop of a world in violent upheaval. In much the same way the LeCarre explored how one man's ego could impact the Cold War, so tpo does Pressfield examine how one man's ambition can be both his, and his country's, fortune, and his, and its, doom. As one might guess, "Tides of War" is not as easy a read as "Gates of Fire". However, it is every bit as well written, and in many ways much more deep, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed but ultimately uncompelling
Review: Pressfield's prior book about the Spartans was a fascinating and compelling story. Sadly, this book doesn't share the same qualities. While both are interesting due to the amount of historical detail about life in that era, the narrator here isn't very interesting and is not close enough to Alcibiades to make his actions come to life. His motives often remain obscure and we don't have enough insight into his genius, if he can be called that. The story jumps around a bit which often lets the steam out of the story.
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