Like 300? Please read this.

[replicant2]

Okay, so I know reading novels isn't really in vogue anymore, but I figured I'd strike while the 300 iron is red-hot, and recommend that fans of that movie go out right now and buy themselves a copy of Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

I'm fully planning to see 300, and if it's as half as good as the hype around here I'll be a happy camper. But a part of me was a bit disappointed to see 300 made, for the sole fact that I wanted to see Gates of Fire on the big screen.

Gates of Fire tells the same story as 300 -- the battle of Thermopylae -- but it's also much more. I'm not sure how much 300 delves into how the Spartans became so bad-ass, but Gates of Fire does, showing you why the Spartans became the most feared warriors of their, and perhaps any, age.

Far more than just the tale of a single battle, the book examines the mindset of this society of proud warriors. It demonstrates their brutal methods of training, how they governed themselves, and how they managed to control their fear in battle, allowing normal men to accomplish great acts of sacrifice and bravery. You also get a great sense of what day-to-day life was like in bronze-age Greece

Pressfield writes so well, at times you feel like you’re in the shield wall, amid the hot, straining press of men ready to clash with spear and sword, tooth and nail, against the enemy. It’s awesome, poignant stuff.

In short, read it!!

 

[Klaus]

Okay, so I know reading novels isn't really in vogue anymore, but I figured I'd strike while the 300 iron is red-hot, and recommend that fans of that movie go out right now and buy themselves a copy of Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

I'm fully planning to see 300, and if it's as half as good as the hype around here I'll be a happy camper. But a part of me was a bit disappointed to see 300 made, for the sole fact that I wanted to see Gates of Fire on the big screen.

Gates of Fire tells the same story as 300 -- the battle of Thermopylae -- but it's also much more. I'm not sure how much 300 delves into how the Spartans became so bad-ass, but Gates of Fire does, showing you why the Spartans became the most feared warriors of their, and perhaps any, age.

Far more than just the tale of a single battle, the book examines the mindset of this society of proud warriors. It demonstrates their brutal methods of training, how they governed themselves, and how they managed to control their fear in battle, allowing normal men to accomplish great acts of sacrifice and bravery. You also get a great sense of what day-to-day life was like in bronze-age Greece

Pressfield writes so well, at times you feel like you’re in the shield wall, amid the hot, straining press of men ready to clash with spear and sword, tooth and nail, against the enemy. It’s awesome, poignant stuff.

In short, read it!!

QFT

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I'll add it to the ever-growing list of books to read. Judging by the responses in the latest OotS thread, you might want to cross-post this there. Apparently, they don't teach history in schools any more.

 

[mmadsen]

Okay, so I know reading novels isn't really in vogue anymore, but I figured I'd strike while the 300 iron is red-hot, and recommend that fans of that movie go out right now and buy themselves a copy of Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

Excellent suggestion.

I'm fully planning to see 300, and if it's as half as good as the hype around here I'll be a happy camper. But a part of me was a bit disappointed to see 300 made, for the sole fact that I wanted to see Gates of Fire on the big screen.

As I recall, Gates of Fire was optioned a few years back.

I'm not sure how much 300 delves into how the Spartans became so bad-ass, but Gates of Fire does, showing you why the Spartans became the most feared warriors of their, and perhaps any, age.

300 has little to do with history; it's an excellent fantasy graphic novel (and now film).

 

[Meloncov]

Excellent suggestion.
As I recall, Gates of Fire was optioned a few years back.

Yes it was, meaning that if it hadn't been for 300 it would likely have been made. With 300, film makers will be reluctant to do Thermopalae for a while out of fear of looking unoriginal.

 

[CCamfield]

Ehh...

I finally read Gates of Fire a couple of months ago.

It was pretty good.

The idea of Spartans philosophizing in long passages about the nature of fear and courage quite frankly struck me as highly unlikely. The Spartans weren't actually laconic.

(Laconic... Laconia... Sparta.)

 

[Klaus]

I may have to read it again, but the one doing the philosophizing was the narrator, who was not Spartan.

 

[replicant2]

I may have to read it again, but the one doing the philosophizing was the narrator, who was not Spartan.

Exactly. I read it when it first came out a few years ago, but from my recollection the discourse on fear in battle and overcoming it was external narration, not long-winded speeches made during the heat of battle.

 

[shilsen]

The idea of Spartans philosophizing in long passages about the nature of fear and courage quite frankly struck me as highly unlikely. The Spartans weren't actually laconic.

You mean the Spartans were actually laconic, right?

 

[Huw]

You mean the Spartans were actually laconic, right?

Some were.