Kevin's Watch

Fist and Faith wrote:Those who haven't read it shouldn't be "tsk"ing anybody, young lady!!!

What?! I've read it! I'm tsking you for not recruiting more people

This also sounds very good,
a qoute which might be in it i believe is the one which goes roughly like this :

Greek : The Persians have so many archers they will turn the sky black with arrows.
Spartan: Then we will fight in the Dark!

Brinn wrote:LOL!!! Keep up the good work Fist. I will no be happy until every man women and child on this board has read this masterpiece!

I'm still in hiding.

I put you on my list of those who have read it, then complained that you hadn't! Ah, Claire, if we were near each other, I'd give you a big stick to give me some well-deserved whacks!!

dmm,jmttbttt

Here's an interview with Pressfield talking about Gates. It took place just before Bagger Vance was released in theaters.
www.historicalnovelsociety.org/solander ... erview.htm

bumpity-bump

Guess what i bought?

I'll start it tongiht.

BE PREPARED!!!!

Just a little bump. In case, you know, anybody just happened to be looking for this thread.

(Didn't Malik also start a thread for this book? I can't find it.)

Is this book at all similar to the movie 300?

Haven't seen the 300, and actually refuse to, because of this book. The 300 could only taint my vision of this story.

The 300 images I've seen look a cartoonish. This book is the in your face harshness/humaness of war. As F&F has said, it is truly is one of the greatest books I've ever read.

stutt

300 was rubbish compared to the book. Luckily, I'd already seen it before I read the book, but if the order had been reversed, I'd have never watched the whole movie.

What an awesome book. It took me about a hundred pages to get into it, more my own fault than the book's, but when I did it was almost impossible to put it down until I'd finished.

Of course, I already had a little history on Thermopylae, (enough that I complained frequently when watching the movie anyway), so it was a pleasure to see the most enduring myths, (like the fact that there were only 300 of them) given no credence.

I was also amused at the "democracy" the battle defended, the strictly rigid and hierarchial class structure with no equality. Quite different from what we mean when we say democracy today.

Superbly written battles that captured awesomely the personal horror of that type of combat. I'll be reading it again soon, that's for sure.

--A

Auleliel wrote:Is this book at all similar to the movie 300?

Yes. They are both about the battle of Thermopylae. But that movie is based on a comic book of the same name. Great comic book, and a very fun movie. There have been other movies about the battle, and probably many many books. But Gates of Fire is phenomenal!

Fist and Faith wrote:

Auleliel wrote:Is this book at all similar to the movie 300?

Yes. They are both about the battle of Thermopylae. But that movie is based on a comic book of the same name. Great comic book, and a very fun movie. There have been other movies about the battle, and probably many many books. But Gates of Fire is phenomenal!

Fist & Faith, thanks for the bump on this book since I am a big fan of this historical story. While I did enjoy the movie 300 despite inaccuracies/embellishments I usually prefer the book. I will definitely check this one out.

On a related note, for those interested in the warrior aspect of various world cultures (past & present) I found "The Code of the Warrior: Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present" by Shannon French to be an interesting book. It is more educational than inspiring but I liked it. (www.amazon.com/Code-Warrior-Exploring-V ... 104&sr=1-2)

Cool! Enjoy!

Andy Kalish wrote:

Fist and Faith wrote:

Auleliel wrote:Is this book at all similar to the movie 300?

Yes. They are both about the battle of Thermopylae. But that movie is based on a comic book of the same name. Great comic book, and a very fun movie. There have been other movies about the battle, and probably many many books. But Gates of Fire is phenomenal!

Fist & Faith, thanks for the bump on this book since I am a big fan of this historical story. While I did enjoy the movie 300 despite inaccuracies/embellishments I usually prefer the book. I will definitely check this one out.

On a related note, for those interested in the warrior aspect of various world cultures (past & present) I found "The Code of the Warrior: Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present" by Shannon French to be an interesting book. It is more educational than inspiring but I liked it. (www.amazon.com/Code-Warrior-Exploring-V ... 104&sr=1-2)

Okay, I'm convinced. I shall look into getting both books. Btw, if Gates of Fire had been very similar to 300, I would not even consider trying to read it. To me, the movie was merely okay.

Auleliel, do you read many comic books? 300 is not a typical representation of the genre, although many of us love it. But it was written by Frank Miller, the guy who wrote the Sin City comic books. And that was a great movie!

In any event, Gates of Fire is a fantastic novel!

Yeah.

Fist and Faith wrote:Auleliel, do you read many comic books? 300 is not a typical representation of the genre, although many of us love it. But it was written by Frank Miller, the guy who wrote the Sin City comic books. And that was a great movie!

In any event, Gates of Fire is a fantastic novel!

I have never read a comic book, and would not know where to find one if I decided I wanted to read one. I believe you about Gates of Fire. I will attempt to find it and read it. I promise.