5.0
Tides of War
Review Praise for Tides of War:"Pressfield's attention to historic detail is exquisite, but he shines brightest in his graphic and brutal descriptions of battle and its horrific affects on soldier and civilian alike. This novel will remain with the reader long after the final chapter is finished."--Library Journal"Pressfield is a masterful storyteller, especially adept in his graphic and embracing descriptions of the land and naval battles, political intrigues and colorful personalities, which come together in an intense and credible portrait of war-torn Greece."--Publishers Weekly"On every page are color, splendor, sorrow, the unforgiving details of battle, daily life, and of the fighter's lot. Unabashedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving."--Kirkus Reviews "As he did in Gates of Fire...Pressfield serves up not just hair-raising battle scenes...but many moments of valor and valor and cowardice, lust and bawdy humor. Even more impressively, he delivers a nuanced portrait of ancient Athens, complete with political skullduggery, overarching ambitions, and reflections on the nature of leadership and the pitfalls of imperialism."--EsquirePraise for Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae"Pressfield's powerful, historically accurate novel explores Spartan society and the nature of courage without ever losing its narrative momentum."--The New Yorker"A first-rate storyteller with a first-rate story to tell. It is truly epic."--Margaret George, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra"Intricate and arresting and, once begun, almost impossible to put down."--New York Daily News"Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life, and he does for that war what Charles Frazier did for the Civil War in Cold Mountain."--Pat Conroy"Fascinating and exciting...worthy of the top prizes in literature."--Abilene Reporter-News"A tale worthy of Homer, a timeless epic of man and war exquisitely researched and boldly written. Pressfield has created a new classic deserving of a place beside the very best of the old."--Stephen Coonts"An incredibly gripping, moving, and literate work of art."--Nelson DeMilleFrom the Hardcover edition. Product Description Four cassettes, 6 hoursRead by Derek JacobiPlutarch, Plato, and Thucydides have all immortalized Alcibiades (ca. 450-404 b.c.) as a peerless general and conqueror on sea and land, whom the tides of war and fortune always favored. Raised as a ward of Pericles, he was later a protégé of Socrates, and inevitably compared to the legendary Achilles. The destinies of Alcibiades and Athens were inextricably intertwined; the man and the city-state mirrored each other's boldness, ambition, and the fatal flaws that were their undoing. When allied, Alcibiades and Athens were unbeatable. When divided, he led Sparta and Persia to glory. At the end of his life, in exile from all factions, Alcibiades was shunned by his countrymen in their most desperate hour. Athens would rather fall than be led by its most brilliant leader. Narrated by Alcibiades' trusted bodyguard and hired assassin in a mesmerizing death-row confession, TIDES OF WAR is epic historical fiction at its finest--a full-bodied, flesh-and-blood retelling of one of history's pivotal conflicts. From Publishers Weekly Perhaps the Peloponnesian War, which lasted 27 years and featured an epic list of people and places, just doesn't lend itself to the six-hour audio format, for not even renowned Shakespearean actor Jacobi's reading gives this novel the sense of personal drama it requires. Pressfield (Gates of Fire) focuses his story on Alcibiades, the legendary hero whose strength, beauty and courage embodied ancient Greek ideals. An Athenian trained in Sparta, Alcibiades appears divinely well suited to feed his country's hunger for military victories. But democracy in its nascent stage being no less tainted than in its current manifestation, Alcibiades is feared for his popularity and ultimately exiled o
Literature & FictionGenre FictionHistoricalWar
RELEASED2000
PUBLISHERRandom House Audio
LANGUAGEEN
I was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother. I graduated from Duke University in 1965. In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again." Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined. GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since the first days of the invasions. E-mails come in by hundreds. GATES OF FIRE is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico. TIDES OF WAR is on the curriculum of the Naval War College. From 2nd Battalion/6th Marines, which calls itself "the Spartans," to ODA 316 of the Special Forces, whose forearms are tattooed with the lambda of Lakedaemon, today's young warriors find a bond to their ancient precursors in the historical narratives of these novels. My struggles to earn a living as a writer (it took seventeen years to get the first paycheck) are detailed in my 2002 book, THE WAR OF ART. I have worked as an advertising copywriter, schoolteacher, tractor-trailer driver, bartender, oilfield roustabout and attendant in a mental hospital. I have picked fruit in Washington state and written screenplays in Tinseltown. With the publication of THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE in 1995, I became a writer of books once and for all. My writing philosophy is, not surprisingly, a kind of warrior code — internal rather than external — in which the enemy is identified as those forms of self-sabotage that I have labeled "Resistance" with a capital R (in THE WAR OF ART) and the technique for combatting these foes can be described as "turning pro." I believe in previous lives. I believe in the Muse. I believe that books and music exist before they are written and that they are propelled into material being by their own imperative to be born, via the offices of those willing servants of discipline, imagination and inspiration, whom we call artists. My conception of the artist's role is a combination of reverence for the unknowable nature of "where it all comes from" and a no-nonsense, blue-collar demystification of the process by which this mystery is approached. In other words, a paradox. There's a recurring character in my books named Telamon, a mercenary of ancient days. Telamon doesn't say much. He rarely gets hurt or wounded. And he never seems to age. His view of the profession of arms is a lot like my conception of art and the artist: "It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life."
5.0
Tides of War
Review Praise for Tides of War:"Pressfield's attention to historic detail is exquisite, but he shines brightest in his graphic and brutal descriptions of battle and its horrific affects on soldier and civilian alike. This novel will remain with the reader long after the final chapter is finished."--Library Journal"Pressfield is a masterful storyteller, especially adept in his graphic and embracing descriptions of the land and naval battles, political intrigues and colorful personalities, which come together in an intense and credible portrait of war-torn Greece."--Publishers Weekly"On every page are color, splendor, sorrow, the unforgiving details of battle, daily life, and of the fighter's lot. Unabashedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving."--Kirkus Reviews "As he did in Gates of Fire...Pressfield serves up not just hair-raising battle scenes...but many moments of valor and valor and cowardice, lust and bawdy humor. Even more impressively, he delivers a nuanced portrait of ancient Athens, complete with political skullduggery, overarching ambitions, and reflections on the nature of leadership and the pitfalls of imperialism."--EsquirePraise for Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae"Pressfield's powerful, historically accurate novel explores Spartan society and the nature of courage without ever losing its narrative momentum."--The New Yorker"A first-rate storyteller with a first-rate story to tell. It is truly epic."--Margaret George, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra"Intricate and arresting and, once begun, almost impossible to put down."--New York Daily News"Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life, and he does for that war what Charles Frazier did for the Civil War in Cold Mountain."--Pat Conroy"Fascinating and exciting...worthy of the top prizes in literature."--Abilene Reporter-News"A tale worthy of Homer, a timeless epic of man and war exquisitely researched and boldly written. Pressfield has created a new classic deserving of a place beside the very best of the old."--Stephen Coonts"An incredibly gripping, moving, and literate work of art."--Nelson DeMilleFrom the Hardcover edition. Product Description Four cassettes, 6 hoursRead by Derek JacobiPlutarch, Plato, and Thucydides have all immortalized Alcibiades (ca. 450-404 b.c.) as a peerless general and conqueror on sea and land, whom the tides of war and fortune always favored. Raised as a ward of Pericles, he was later a protégé of Socrates, and inevitably compared to the legendary Achilles. The destinies of Alcibiades and Athens were inextricably intertwined; the man and the city-state mirrored each other's boldness, ambition, and the fatal flaws that were their undoing. When allied, Alcibiades and Athens were unbeatable. When divided, he led Sparta and Persia to glory. At the end of his life, in exile from all factions, Alcibiades was shunned by his countrymen in their most desperate hour. Athens would rather fall than be led by its most brilliant leader. Narrated by Alcibiades' trusted bodyguard and hired assassin in a mesmerizing death-row confession, TIDES OF WAR is epic historical fiction at its finest--a full-bodied, flesh-and-blood retelling of one of history's pivotal conflicts. From Publishers Weekly Perhaps the Peloponnesian War, which lasted 27 years and featured an epic list of people and places, just doesn't lend itself to the six-hour audio format, for not even renowned Shakespearean actor Jacobi's reading gives this novel the sense of personal drama it requires. Pressfield (Gates of Fire) focuses his story on Alcibiades, the legendary hero whose strength, beauty and courage embodied ancient Greek ideals. An Athenian trained in Sparta, Alcibiades appears divinely well suited to feed his country's hunger for military victories. But democracy in its nascent stage being no less tainted than in its current manifestation, Alcibiades is feared for his popularity and ultimately exiled o
Literature & FictionGenre FictionHistoricalWar
RELEASED2000
PUBLISHERRandom House Audio
LANGUAGEEN
I was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother. I graduated from Duke University in 1965. In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again." Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined. GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since the first days of the invasions. E-mails come in by hundreds. GATES OF FIRE is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico. TIDES OF WAR is on the curriculum of the Naval War College. From 2nd Battalion/6th Marines, which calls itself "the Spartans," to ODA 316 of the Special Forces, whose forearms are tattooed with the lambda of Lakedaemon, today's young warriors find a bond to their ancient precursors in the historical narratives of these novels. My struggles to earn a living as a writer (it took seventeen years to get the first paycheck) are detailed in my 2002 book, THE WAR OF ART. I have worked as an advertising copywriter, schoolteacher, tractor-trailer driver, bartender, oilfield roustabout and attendant in a mental hospital. I have picked fruit in Washington state and written screenplays in Tinseltown. With the publication of THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE in 1995, I became a writer of books once and for all. My writing philosophy is, not surprisingly, a kind of warrior code — internal rather than external — in which the enemy is identified as those forms of self-sabotage that I have labeled "Resistance" with a capital R (in THE WAR OF ART) and the technique for combatting these foes can be described as "turning pro." I believe in previous lives. I believe in the Muse. I believe that books and music exist before they are written and that they are propelled into material being by their own imperative to be born, via the offices of those willing servants of discipline, imagination and inspiration, whom we call artists. My conception of the artist's role is a combination of reverence for the unknowable nature of "where it all comes from" and a no-nonsense, blue-collar demystification of the process by which this mystery is approached. In other words, a paradox. There's a recurring character in my books named Telamon, a mercenary of ancient days. Telamon doesn't say much. He rarely gets hurt or wounded. And he never seems to age. His view of the profession of arms is a lot like my conception of art and the artist: "It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life."
