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Summary: A whole new world
Review: I just finished reading the book, Gates of Fire, recently. It is a truly amazing story and book. It gave me a whole new and different view of the people and events before and during the battle of Thermopylae. Sparta and Spartans have a certain reputation that has carried on down thru the centuries, I have learned to understand it more now. I bought the book because I thought the basic idea interesting. I have to say that that was an understatement. It is a book that is hard to put down and harder to put away. It seemed too short after I was finished with it. I will have to wait a little while before revisiting the battle of Thermopylae, but I will be making a return trip soon.
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Summary: A Classic by Every Standard
Review: Steven Pressfield's work, like the 300 Spartiates who filled the pass at Thermopylae, stands in a class of its own without peer. The prose is as riveting as the story. The characters are vivid, the imagery stunning. No tale of heroism can match the story of Leonidas and the fateful stand of his 300 Spartans at the Thermopylae Pass in 480BC. No author has come close to describing it with the intensity of Mr. Pressfield. Last month, I sent a letter to Bill O'Reilly and suggested that had Leonidas not made his stand at Thermopylae, we'd all be speaking Arabic today ... I concluded that the 'pass' needed defense again. Two weeks later, the United States was at war with Saddam Hussein. This story is timeless, and Mr. Pressfield's telling is unforgettable. Do not miss the opportunity to read what you will remember as the most powerful book you have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: I picked this book up from an "Our Recommendations" shelf at a local literary bookstore; but I found the book to be off-putting. The novel is well researched and well written but I had a problem with the entire war-monger tone of the book. The author is an unabashed war apologist. One of the themes of this book was that this particular battle saved the budding Western Civilization - a good point - but what about the other petty, bullyish battles described prior to the battle of Thermopylae? I think that this book was written for people from the World War II / Korean War generation - people who have faith that war can be ultimately good. Having grown up during Viet Nam, I suppose, I have a knee jerk anti-war sentiment. The other problem that I had with the book was the characterization. All the characters seemed to me to be the same person. Some of the dialogue was humorous and entertaining but most of it was just a lot of chest thumping and speech giving.
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Summary: A Page-Turner on Par with "The Killer Angels"
Review: Steven Pressfield's vivid account of the desperate delaying action of the Spartans and their allies against the Persians at Thermopylae in mid-August 480BC is one of the finest books of its type that I have ever read. It stands right up there with "The Killer Angels". Pressfield's historical novel is billed as "epic" and that it is. After almost 2500 years the heroics of King Leonidas and his men spring to stark life by virtue of Mr. Pressfield's eloquent prose. Outnumbered by, according to some accounts (Herodotus), as much as 100 to 1 the stand of the Greek allies is one of the great stories in human history. However, Pressfield goes beyond that and makes the cruelty of Spartan society live as well as its nobility. I highly recommend this, especially if you have any interest in warfare or ancient history.
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Summary: Great! Absolutely Great!
Review: The Gates of Fire is, without a doubt, the best book I have ever read. In all honesty I could not put it down and being a student it really messed with my study habits for a couple of days. I thought the author did an outstanding job writing the book. I was at the edge of my seat for 4 days until finally I had finished. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of valor, pride, duty, and love. I was seriously impressed with the book and look forward to his next work becoming available next month.
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Summary: Best book I have read in at least 5 years
Review: I was rivited and stayed up all night to finish this book. I do not know if it is a masterpiece, but it is fantastic, fantastic entertainment.
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Summary: Gripping and powerful story that is well told
Review: Being an Army officer, it is always interesting to read as how others depict the life of the common soldier. This book is interesting in that it does two things well: it tells of the timeless truths as to what makes soldiers successful in combat, and the book gives the reader insight into a civilization that has long ago vanished in our past. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Couldn't finish this one
Review: Two chapters in and that was that. Boring! It's still on the shelf with a bookmark for some desperate, rainy day without something better to read.
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Summary: In defense of the novel...
Review: This is actually a response to the above reviewer. I think he/she may be confusing the Spartans with the Sacred Band of Thebes who paired up with a lover.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Failure
Review: Thermopylae is a story worth telling, and I'm a sucker for stories of foot soldiers who go on when they know it's hopeless, so I came to the book in a receptive mood. I was disappointed. Pressfield does the historical novelist's job of plausibly recreating a different world. He has certainly done his research about the mechanics of hoplite combat. It is well known that the social position of women in Sparta was far superior to that in most Greek city-states, that they ran the economy while the men trained for war, and that, unique to Sparta, they were given rigorous physical training to make them strong mothers of healthy children. Pressfield uses this information to give a credible picture of a society where men are free to work at being men because strong women really run things. As to homosexuality, I don't think he shies at that fence at all. The relationship between Dienekes and Alexandros isn't gone into in graphic detail, but it is perfectly clear. What goes wrong is that he doesn't communicate his values through the action of his story. His characters are as speechy and preachy as those in Heinlein's Starship Troopers, which the book somewhat resembles. Pressfield doesn't trust the pathos of Thermopylae to speak for itself without maudlin rhetoric, and he falls into tear-jerking sentimentality. The coda, with the surprise conversion of one character to belief in the Spartan way of life, rings absolutely false.
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