The New York Times praised the book’s ‘feel of authenticity from beginning to end.’ Author Nelson DeMille admired the ‘mastery, authority and psychological insight.’ Sarah Broadhurst, in The Bookseller, particularly wanted to recommend the book to women: “ Although it has a male feel to it, it will appeal to both sexes, as my two readers and I can testify. “Does for (Thermopylae) what Charles Frazier did for the Civil War in Cold Mountain’, enthused author Pat Conroy. The result is a fascinating tale, on one level a war story written with great pace and excitement, on another a ruminative tale of man’s capacity for honour, heroism, and self-sacrifice. To do so, he draws on his personal experience as a US infantryman, as well as the classics. Pressfield sets himself the task of explaining Spartan culture to us in all its glory, humour, brutality and philosophy. He is taken, wounded, before Xerxes, and asked to explain “who were these foemen, who had taken with them to the house of the dead ten or, as some reports said, as many as twenty for every one of their own fallen?” In Xeones’ own words, therefore, we get the story of his life from when his own city is destroyed, to when he comes to Sparta as a slave, to the time when he finally comes to stand beside the Spartiate in the fateful battle. Pressfield tells the story of Xeones, one of the survivors of the battle.
Ancient and modern historians unite in seeing the battle as one of the great turning points. What followed were the Persian defeats at Salamis and Plataea. But their self-sacrifice bought time for the Greek City States. In the end they died to the last man, refusing to surrender. The behaviour of all the Greeks was heroic, but that of the Spartans was absurdly so. Notoriously, 300 Spartans along with no more than 7,000 allied Greeks, held off an attacking army of (Herodotus tells us) 2 million Persians for several days. Gates of Fire tells the story of Thermopylae, one of the most famous of ancient battles.
An unknown author, writing historical fiction, going straight in at the number one slot? It had to be good. Gates of Fire first came to my attention when it knocked Stephen King’s The Green Mile from the top of the Guardian UK bestsellers list in February last year. Richard Lee Richard Lee’s Spring 2000 interview with STEVEN PRESSFIELD.
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