The Gates of Fire

By Steven Pressfield
1998

ISBN 978-0385492515

An historic fiction concerning the Battle of Thermopylae as told by the sole survivor of the Spartan defenders. There are a few glaring historical inaccuracies but nothing that is so overwhelming that I wanted to stop reading. The action starts very close to the beginning of the story and does not let up until the last page.

We start the story, as told by a Spartan regular named Xeones while on his deathbed in the Persian camp, from his childhood days as a Spartan. His training and the friendships he forges are the prominent elements of the story up to the battle. If I said any more I fear that I would be taking away some of the magic that comes from a first reading of this compelling story.

A wonderful depiction of Leonidas and his band of brothers as they pledge their lives to the survival of their homeland.

A must read for Martial Artists and Soldiers everywhere.

"Go, way-farer, bear news to Sparta’s town
that here, their bidding done, we laid us down."
--Translation of the monument at the Gates of Fire