Rating: 
Summary: An Engrossing and Deeply Moving Book
Review: Maybe the best book I've read since Cold Mountain. It is a thoroughly engrossing story, based on the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartan soldiers, along with other Greek allies, held off an overwhelming force of invading Persians for several days. The narrator of the book is Xeno, a battle squier who is the sole survivor of the Spartan force. Pressfield convincingly sheds light on the nature of friendship, bravery, fear, freedom, honor, the differences between the sexes, and above all, love- love of country (and one's city) and the brotherly/fatherly love between the Spartans. The first few pages, explaining how Xeno comes to be brough before the Persian king Xerxes, to whom he relates his story, may seem boring or more likely confusing to some, but persevere and you will be richly rewarded.
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Summary: The Greatest Defeat in the History of Western Civilization
Review: The Battle of Thermopylae is generally regarded as one of the greatest military engagements of all time. It took place in ancient Greece, between the legendary warriors of Sparta and the huge army of the Persians under Xerxes. Remember him from Western Civ class? Yeah, me neither. But I returned to this book after taking Western Civ recently, after my first attempt at slogging through it failed. This is definitely a book that goes down easier with some background info; even basic knowledge about the Greek city-states will help.It's not giving away much to give a brief outline of the battle. Basically, 300 Spartans (or Lakedaemonians, as they called themselves) defended a single mountain pass into Greece against about 2 million Persians. Yes, 300 - and they held the pass for 3 days, too, long enough for their allies to muster a resistance at Athens that would eventually defeat the Persians for good. The story is told in flashback, the conceit being that one Spartan has survived the siege and is brought to Xerxes, who wants to know more about these heroic soldiers who didn't seem to care that they were fighting a suicide mission and who, despite their inevitable defeat, gave the Persians a hellacious ass-whomping for a few days there. The narrator is in fact a former slave serving as a squire to one of the Spartan warriors, which allows for plenty of gushing about the Spartans' prowess. The 3 days of the battle itself come at the end of the book, allowing plenty of time to flesh out the character of the Spartans and a little bit about ancient Greece before getting down to the blood and glory. And glory it is. If you choked up during 'Braveheart' or 'Gladiator', expect a teary moment or two here as well. What makes this story all the more poignant is the fact that it is, so far as we can tell after several thousand years, completely true. The epitaph described in the book - "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by/That here obedient to their laws we lie" - actually exists, carved into the rocks of the Gates of Fire and still visible today. The first half drags a bit - sometimes more than a bit. The narration itself twists and turns and winds its way, often confusingly, through the story. And again, if you don't have at least some idea of who the Athenians and Corinthians, et al, are, you're going to have no idea what the heck is going on. Still, the Battle of Thermopylae is famous today. (Remember 'The Last Samurai'? Tom Cruise mentions Thermopylae when he's planning the suicidal final battle of the samurai.) Steven Pressfield's novel does a great job explaining how a single 3 day battle could survive as the single greatest defeat in the history of Western Civilization.
Rating: 
Summary: WELL DONE Steven Pressfield!
Review: The Gates of Fire brings to life THE most heroic battle in world history, the Battle at Thermopylae; a three day battle (August 18th, 480 BCE through August 20th, 480 BCE) for the pass at Thermopylae (the Hot Gates) between an immense Persian host under King Xerxes and a small Greek force dominated by King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. Unlike the Alamo, Custer's Last Stand and many other glorious battles where the parties involved did not expect to be wiped out, the Spartans and Thespians willingly held their positions knowing that they could not possibly win against such overwhelming numbers. Together with The Gates of Fire, The 300 Spartans (a 1962 classic) is a "must see" movie about honor, real men, and real heroes who fought and died in the name of Greece and Freedom at Thermopylae.
"Stranger, go tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their laws."
Rating:
Summary: Better than Tides of War
Review: I read Tides of War first, before taking a Greek history class, and then Gates of Fire after taking Greek history. Perhaps the greater context helped, but I just think that the subject matter made the key difference in making this book better. One imagines it difficult to write a bad book about Thermopylae but Pressfield has gone above the call of duty in producing strong characters and a worthwhile backstory that make the lead-up to the battle worth the price of admission. The battle accounts are especially vivid, the author's style engaging, clever, and funny. The author clearly loves to tell stories and with good reason - he's good at it. The history is also solid, as far as I know, though I think he goes a little light on the suffering of the helots. As in Tides of War, the author seems to revel a little too much in the dirty sides of war - prostitution, profanity, rape - but I think they serve a better purpose in this novel. In Tides, such behavior becomes monotonous and gives the reader a sense of the dirtiness of the Sicilian campaign. In Gates, these details give the Spartans a color they may or may not have had, but more importantly, the dirtiness of the non-Spartan Greeks set the Spartans apart, making their noble deeds stand out amidst the squalor of the other armies. The one problem I had with the book was the lengthy disquisitions on philosophy, especially the philosophy of courage. It is debatable to what degree the Spartans had an interest in philosophy, which seems to have been more an Athenian pursuit. But more generally, they seem out of place amidst the rest of the text, as if they were more the author's fancy than the novel's true course. I agree that there may be some place for an excess of philosophy in dealing with Greek history, and there is a worthwhile payoff at the end to all this philosophizing, but I still found those sections tedious and to little purpose. Nonetheless, this is a novel that is difficult to stop reading and likely one that I'll read again, which is a rarity.
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Summary: Heroism that echoes over millenia
Review: The warriors even today know of the heroic stand of Leonidas and the Spartans at Thermopylae. What Pressfield does with GoF is bring them to life. By using a fictional character, Pressfield takes us thru the lifelong training of Spartans from boyhood to taking their places in the phalanx. He demonstrates how the Spartan warriors were molded by their training (not at all unfamiliar to modern Special Forces) in how to think, how to feel, and how to win. Dianekes, Polynikes, Alexandros, and Leonidas himself present themselves as flesh and blood men, not as heroes, but as Dianekes states, "accomplishing common tasks under uncommon circumstances." Above all, it shows the iron band of the brotherhood of war, the warriors theselves, and the women and the society supporting them, and in a fashion that modern society will understand. This novel should be required reading in every high school in western civilization.
Rating:
Summary: An Exhilarating Blend of History and Fiction
Review: Pressfield combines an accurate historical analysis with contemporary fiction to make a very readable novel. In addition, he weaves broader themes of leadership, the role of family, and selfless service into an action packed adventure featuring the selection of 300 Spartan warriors defending against the Persian army. His account should inspire anyone in the service of the nation to understand the importance of sacrificing for the collective good. In the spirit of Starship Troopers this novel inspired me to re-examine my own sense of service, and it motivated me to better understand the linkage between the volunteer stepping forward to fight, and the supportive family and nation sustaining those warriors on the battlefield. Using the current conflict as an analogy, if the mothers and fathers of those sons and daughters getting injured and killed in Iraq & Afghanistan were to stand in front of the press daily lamenting that their children had died in vane, we would have a different policy. Instead, we have broken hearts for our lost soldiers, but steadfastly loyal supporters of war on foreign soil. Many recognize that our volunteer soldiers are much better equipped to handle the terrorists attracted to the magnet of Iraq, than civilians and other innocent people in the U.S. and elsewhere. Better to have the fanatics determine how to attack the U.S. in Iraq or Afghanistan, then to have them develop the means to slip into America or Europe and attack noncombatants. Bravo to Pressfield for helping us better understand the meaning of service and sacrifice, as well as providing an enjoyable historical novel. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Master of His Craft
Review: I added this book to my reading list on the recommendation of a friend, but my lack of enthusiasm for Ancient Greece kept it there, stagnating, for nearly a year. Finding later that my friend had read several of my recommendations to him in that time, I was shamed into queuing it up. My only regret is that I had waited so long. As you already know, GoF is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans held an endlessly replenished Persian force for a week. This subject matter in and of itself is epic, but Pressfield manages to take it to Homeric heights by his talent. The novel begins with a sole surviving Spartan squire who, summoning the muse, begins his memorializing tale. The lover of epic language and deeds will not be disappointed as the characters speak like epic characters should. Some readers may disagree. It is doubtful the ancients would have measured time in minutes in ancient Greece, so the word "minute" may be out of context. In another scene a character describes a battle as "Pandemonium" and that term had not worked its way into language until Milton's Paradise Lost, where Milton created it to describe Hell (Pan-Demon-ium). There is liberal use of modern sounding slang by the soldiers, as well. One must understand however, that this is a method of translation with the point being to allow a modern audience to intuit this ancient culture. In keeping with the impact of the epic, the plot is also concise and efficient. No character exists without meaning; no scene without purpose, each event leads to the next like the massive advance of the Spartan phalanx. In many ways, it is as though Pressfield was there with the Spartans and though a fictionalized account, GoF is a history lesson. Where there is little proof to corroborate the events, for example, the reader will find it difficult to imagine events another way. Pressfield knows what it is like to be a Spartan and he knows what it is like to be in such a battle. He won my trust in these matters not just because the story felt right, but because he knew what the Spartan youths felt and thought as they underwent their training. Having gone to a military college, I have never known any other person aside from a fellow alumnus, to be able to understand that mindset. Pressfield does. He knows. His imagination is deep and true. War was the craft of Sparta, and the Spartans were masters of their craft, as Pressfield is a master of his. I now have a newly kindled interest in ancient Greece that is not likely to diminish anytime soon.
Rating:
Summary: A work of art
Review: I really do not know how to express the reality of this book. It has the most vivid battles of any book I have read. I felt like I was among the few hundred spartans holding off the thousands. I felt that I was walking through the narrow pass. If you like historical-fiction and you have not read this book I highly recomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Dramatic examination of military culture
Review: After the battle of Thermopylae, a foreign-born Spartan squire named Xeones is found by the Persians, gravely wounded but alive. Xerxes, wishing to know what kind of people the Spartans might be, who at hundreds strong could slay thousands of enemies in a valiant suicide mission, has the squire try to explain this. Xeones tells this tale, but a more personal one as well: the sacking of his town, his unrequited love for his cousin, his rise up the Sparatan ranks, the cruelty of the Spartan school for warriors, the thoughts and fears of his master and the Spartan women that he somehow became privy to. This is certainly an entertaining book: the various plots are interesting enough, and of course the drama of Thermopylae itself is inherently fascinating. There are a couple of potential problems with Pressfield's handling of the Spartans, however. One, Pressfield gives no doubt that he finds much to admire in the Spartan way of life. That the Spartans were eugenically-minded, infanticide-practicing, child-abusing, secret-death-squad-using, insulated, jingoistic, land-grabbing hierarchical imperialists with proto-fascistic tendencies doesn't seem to affect his judgement any. His affection for the culture leads him to present Spartan culture as a sort of freedom-loving patriotism when the truth was likely closer to a fear-based subsumption of the self to the greater good. Two, Pressfield has the Spartan women interfere in political ritual, which I assume would be simply unthinkable. Aside from that, though, the gritty historical detail is handled well enough. Every detail - from the armor's accouterments, to the effects a thousand men's feet, blood, and urine have on dust, to the experience of a thousand arrows whistling through the air, to the psychology of fear - is explored. As a military historical fiction, as a battle piece, as epic drama, the book works.
Rating: 
Summary: Ancient Greece comes to life
Review: "Gates of Fire" starts out very well as an in-depth look at the ancient Spartan army. The first third of the book is great; it's all about their army training, drills, religous ceremonies, and discipline. The story is told from the point of view of a kinght's squire, the only survivor. His master is assigned to go with a small army on a suicide mission against the Persian army. This is fiction based on the real life Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The Greeks lost the battle, but that slowed down the Persians long enough to regroup forces and eventually win the war. The first two third is great, a facinating look at Spartian life. It's the actual battle that is slow and meandering for the last hundred and forty pages. But it's pretty good all in all.
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