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Summary: Pressfield brings the battle and characters to life!
Review: I love historical fiction. So when a co-worker recommended this book, I ran right out and got it. And I'm really glad I did.The battle of Thermopylae was one of the most magnificent defeats ever suffered by any army; it made the legend of the Spartan warriors. Some histories have it that King Xerxes of Persian commanded an army of around 2 million men and were moving to attack the city of Thermopylae. Thermopylae was a port and situated behind a mountainous pass. 300 Spartan soldiers and about 3,500 allies, sworn to defend the City, stationed themselves at the pass and for a week, held off Xerxes'army. The story is narrated by the lone Spartan survivor of the battle and is told to King Xerxes of Persia. Mr. Pressfield brings not only the battle to life, but his characters as well. I found myself hoping against all odds (and history)that the Spartans might win this battle, so sympathetic are the characters. He describes the Spartan way without detracting from the story - rather, it allows the reader to understand why the 300 performed as they did. This book reads very quickly. It is compelling and I recommend it highly.
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Summary: None Better
Review: The reviewers who did not enjoy this book are obviously very different from me. Sure, there are things to critizise about "Sparta" and "slavery" and "war-mongering" but what that has to do with reviewing this wonderful book is beyond me. The story of the protagonist's adoption into Spartan society was an excellent vehicle to provide an outsider's view of this amazing society. The non-linear story-telling was brilliant -- else the whole thing would have boiled down to a countdown to the inevtiable finale that every reader must already know. And I have to say that the actual treatment of the battle was the single best (thrilling, believable, riveting) piece of military history novelization I have ever come across. Let me sum up: Gates of Fire has a permanent spot on my top shelf, It is a well-told story about war, honor, and sacrifice. If you think that "glory" and "war" have any intersection then here it is. The views of Spartan society were far more interesting than most such books -- in part because the extremes of this culture rival anything created by sci-fi writers. Surely not even Klingons are this tough. I found the training to be not unlike the summer two-a-days I was subjected to in high school football in Texas. My coach never executed anyone, that's true, but given half a chance...
Rating:
Summary: Very good but VERY violent
Review: Pressfield has created a very nice piece of historical fiction. I know that it is supposed to be classified as "Non-fiction", but I can't completely agree. The battle at Themoplyae occurred 2500 years ago, so I have a hard time believing that all of the details are exactly as they occurred.
However, a debate on the novel's genre is just sematics. What we have here is an engrossing novel on a fascinating time period. The Spartans as a whole are a interesting group. It was a civilization made up entirely of of "Navy Seals", and all men were expected not only to fight, but to be superior warriors.
"The Gates of Fire," is very good but it is also violent and descriptively gory (Stephen King has nothing on Pressfield!). The story is very well paced and while some of the characters could have used more developments, they are believable. However, character development and pace are only side-notes to the story. This is a book about war and those who were born to fight it. We learn about discipline and self-sacrifice. It might even be the the perfect read for the U.S. millitary to hand-out during the begining of boot camp!
I recommend "The Gates of Fire", to all who think that they can handle the all the deatils that it contains. This is definitely not a book for those who are a little squeemish at the thought of blood!
Rating:
Summary: Good motivation
Review: Teh other revieweres have done a very good summary of the book, so I must be brief. Those who: - Like reading adventure and passion (in this case a different kind of passion, full of pain);
- Wanna have some fun, because you won't rest before the end;
- Are sympathetic to Ancient History;
- Are willing to know how spartan warriors thought and made their strategy; must read the book. To some extent, the history gives you strength and motivation to keep fighting not a field battle (of course), but the life battle.
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Summary: reponse to Piper909
Review: This is not so much a review of Gates of Fire; so much as it is a response to Piper909's review of the book. I will say however, that Gates of Fire is a great novel and should be on the shelf of any enthusiast of History, or Historical Fiction. That being said I will now proceed with my criticism of Piper909's review. Piper909 is not an expert on ancient Greece. He may have studied something intensively for three decades, but it certainly didn't have anything to do with ancient Greece. This is shown to be quite obvious when he says, "I can't imagine such a Waffen-SS setting would truly produce such a stable society." The Spartan society was anything but stable. They were constantly afraid of an uprising by the Helot (slave) population, who vastly outnumbered the Spartan citizens. Indeed this is the main reason why the Spartans were often so reluctant to go to war outside the Peloponnese. I also do not understand how he thinks the book was too modern because the military training described in the book is so rigorous. This statement truly amazes me. The Spartan military training (along with the stand at Thermopilai, of course) is what has made the Spartan society so famous today. There is in fact no scholarly debate over the extreme harshness of Spartan military training. Piper909's assertion that there is some kind "kung fu philosophizing" also demonstrates his utter lack of knowledge of the time period. As he doesn't even give an example of what he considers to be "kung Fu" about the book I must speculate. He is probably referring to one of the two main themes of the book: that of honor, and of freedom. Honor was very important to the ancient Spartans. Sparta did not print money (money was illegal inside Sparta). They did not have lavish homes, or build famous architectural masterpieces. Indeed if one goes to Sparta today, the reminders of the ancient Spartan culture will be things that were recently built (such as the statue of Lycurgus, the building of which was funded by Greek-Americans of Spartan descent). So the accumulation of honor was the principle motivational force for the people of ancient Sparta, as the accumulation of wealth is today. It could be that Piper909 was criticizing the theme of freedom, but this would also be fallacy, even in the non-democratic Sparta. Freedom, and the desire to maintain a uniquely Greek culture, was what the whole Persian war was all about. Indeed, the Greco-Persian war is considered to be the first ideological war in history. So Pressfield's inclusion of these two themes is both accurate and necessary to fully understand the war. I find it ironic (and somewhat humorous) that Piper909 criticizes the book because it is "silent on issues of Spartan slavery" for two reasons. First, slavery was a part of every day life in ancient times, and was accepted without question by the Spartan elite. Having a moral discussion on slavery included in the novel would be inaccurate, and too modern (something that piper909 himself accuses of the book). Second, Pressfield is not silent on the issue of slavery. One of the main characters of the book is half Spartiate, and half Helot (did Piper909 even read this book?).There is an entire section of the book dealing with how this character feels about his place in the society, and how others react to him. I find nothing wrong if someone does not like this book and writes a bad review of it. What I do have a problem with is someone passing themselves off as experts and then trashing the book because of mistaken assumptions of the time period
Rating:
Summary: Fiction blends with history to create an epic war story
Review: Pressfield uses fact and fiction to encapsulate the reader in the Greecian/Persian wars of 400 B.C. The story is artfully told from the point of view of a captured slave who served as a Spartan squire and gains audience with Xerxes as a dying prisoner. The Battle of Thermopylae is the central focus of the novel, yet the storyline revolves around the boy's life and his experience with the Spartans, sort of from the outside looking in. Genius writing, an amazing story, a must read. Also, Marines will find it on the Commandant's reading list for professional education.
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Summary: Outstandingly good - couldn't put it down
Review: The Spartans have been the Bad Guys of Ancient Greece for a long time. Most of us were brought up with the idea that the Athenians were "good" - philosophy, drama, visual arts, democracy - and the Spartans were "bad" - war, war, and more war. Pressfield does three things here and does them superbly: he shows us what Thermopylae meant at the time, including why the 300 Spartans and their allies had to stay and die, even if they could have retreated, and, to some degree, what it means now; he gives us a look into what Spartan society may have been like; and he tells a story of humanity and one of our deepest and longest lasting battles, the battle against fear.
Technically, this is a superb book. He takes a first-person narrative and makes it riveting, even though, on one level, we all know how the story turns out. He takes a totally alien culture and brings it to vivid life. He makes situations very different from our daily ones reach through time and hold our attention. And he writes set pieces - battles, training scenes, discussions between characters - that blow the roof off. When he writes, you're there.
Spartan society was a kind of parasite culture that controlled and was sustained by a captive host culture. The Spartans devoted themselves to war to protect themselves from revolts from their subjects and to protect themselves and their subjects from foreign aggression. Pressfield takes us into the thinking that he postulates would have underpinned this society - how would a race of warriors, especially curious, analytical Greeks, have dealt with such issues as the omnipresence of death and its companion, fear? What kinds of questions would they ask themselves? How would women function in such a society? What does liberty mean in this context?
I think it would have been a waste of narrative time and space to have Pressfield - as a previous writer seems to have wanted - indulge in seriously anachronistic PC stuff about how bad slavery was and oppressed this and nasty that. He paints a picture of a society dedicated to war in a time when the world was very harsh. Even if a Spartan 2400 years ago could have imagined what early 21st century mewing about oppression would have been like, he could not have functioned in his society for a moment if he paid it any attention.
There are some odd things in the way Pressfield has imagined his world. I was surprised to see such tall Egyptians and to run into place names for Europe that the Spartans probably would not have known, since they were later Roman names, but I suspect these were just to keep readers from being totally lost.
There isn't enough space here to list this book's virtues. I'd love to get Pressfield's look into Roman Republican society.
Rating:
Summary: quite possibly the greatest warrior's narrative EVER
Review: this book is utterly amazing. this book was personally recommended to me and my fellow cadets by Lt. General Hal Moore. (of We were Soldiers Once and Young fame) needless to say this is truly a masterpiece. the asides of the main character add both depth and at many points humor while simultaneously bringing forth an inate sense of Spartan culture and socio-economic structure. throughout the book one develops a personal connection with the characters. while the main character is both intruiging and novel the focus should primarily be on Leonidas the Spartan Leader and co-King. truly he was a man of the greatest patriotism. although i would love to fully expound upon the book i will leave it to you the reader to truly delve into this bonafide masterpiece.
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Summary: The Way of the Warrior
Review: This fine novel of historical fiction is an exhilarating journey for the reader. Steven Pressfield crafts an exciting tale for the reader that is not only entertaining and engaging, but also historically accurate.
Steven Pressfield provides the reader with a startlingly real look at the lives of the legendary Spartans. With the help of the narrator, Xeo, we learn more about the Spartans ways of life, the way of the warrior. How they train, how they work as a community how they live. This vivid look into the Spartan life style is given constantly throughout the book in a flashback of events given by Xeo.
The story tells the life of Xeo, a man enslaved by the Spartans who trains and fights alongside them. Xeo accompanies the Spartan warriors on their journey to Thermopylae. There he witnesses the horrific battle between the 300 Spartans and their faithful slaves, and the overwhelming Persian army, 100,000 strong. Xeo being the only survivor retells the tale of all that happened in the week of battle.
Through his story we learn more about the Spartans and of war than many would have expected. We learn of the companionship that occurred between not only the esteemed warriors, but also between the warrior and his slave.
The story of the epic battle that goes on is an exciting and gripping one. Steven Pressfield draws you into it. You can feel the tension and weariness that the Spartans feel after days of nonstop battle against a relentless foe. Its almost as if you are there too, walking around in armor and lugging a shield around awaiting your turn to fight the next army sent up by the foreign invaders.
The overall feeling of the book is an awe inspiring tale in which you learn many new things about a people and a way of life that has died in today's world. You get a glimpse of what it was like to be a warrior in the truest sense. And all of this is written beautifully.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Tribute to Literature
Review: If you like historical fiction and you have not read this book I do believe you are missing out.
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