Gates of Fire

An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

By: Steven Pressfield

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life.”—Pat Conroy

At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.

Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history—one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale....

©1998 Steven Pressfield (P)2000 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Gripping and swashbuckling . . . an exciting, romantic, star-crossed story.”—The New York Times

“An incredibly gripping, moving, and literate work of art. Rarely does an author manage to re-create a moment in history with such mastery, authority, and psychological insight.”—Nelson DeMille

“A novel that is intricate and arresting and, once begun, almost impossible to put down.”—New York Daily News

Great story, wonderful reading!

I had read this in book form and loved the story. Characters that you care about, not just battle narration. Derek Jacobi gives the finest reading I have yet heard in an audio book! Highly recommended.

amazing story

tremendous tale from start to finish. true, it doesnt get to the actual battle at themopylae until the back half at least, but its amazing throughout

Better than 300

This book shares many similarities to the recent movie "300"; however, it is better. Covering the same battle at the hot gates of Thermopylae, this version is told by the sole surviving Spartan, Xeo. When Xerxes presses him to tell the story of how 300 Spartans and their allies could hold off his troop numbering over 100,000, Xeo starts at his beginning. He was not originally a Spartan, yet he came to love it and join its army, ultimately getting to fight in this final stand of his comrads. This version explains a great deal of how Sparta was so strong as a nation, as well as why the suicide force was sent to buy time at the gates of Thermopylae. Great battle scenes, terrific suspense, and wonderful storytelling bring this legendary battle to life! Great Job Steven Pressfield!

Highly Recommended. Don't need to see movie first!

Struggled at first with the narrator's accent. Once I got it together, the story flowed much easier. Because I saw the movie, I had to try to disassociate it from the story. I read this because it's on the Commandant's Reading List for my pay grade, but you do not need to be military to appreciate this book. True overall leadership lessons are given, albeit, more profoundly in the latter half. Definitely recommend this book.

Excellent story! Well told

Love this book - have listened to it several times. Very inspiring !
Great reader as well

Amazing book. One of my favorites.

Listened to it a second time while touring Greece. passing the actual gates of fire multiple times. love this book. It is so good I listen are normal speed.

Excellent, but very sad it's abridged

Gates of Fire is a superb book. It is historical fiction at it's very best. I believe this is the best of Pressfield's works, so it is nice to finally see this book in audio. The reading is terrific. In fact, I have only one minor quibble, in that the voice adopted for Polynikes sounds like a 40 year old man rather than a 23 year old. Narrator should have used that voice for Dienekes. But truly a quibble. A wonderful book and a superb story of the bond between men and between men and women. I give it 4 stars vs. five merely because it is abridged, and there are some truly wonderful insights about characters (especially Suicide, Arete, and Dienekes) that are in the book that are not in this abridged volume. Still, if you like this era of history and you like stories of courage, valor, and frienship, you cannot do better. This book has some of the best quotes I am aware of for sacrifice and friendship. It is a literary achievement.

Quite a journey!

Not only did this book cover the journey of a boy to manhood, but it also covered the journey of a man to a soldier, and a soldier to death. The deep themes of honor, dedication, and selfless service to something greater than one's self rang true in this book, and by the end had me wanting to jump up and cheer for heroes I hadn't expected to arise! Excellent historical fiction!

300 was enjoyable, but this book really makes it look like the comic book it is.

The best

Gates of fire is not only when the finest works of historical fiction ever written it is an elegant commentary on leadership courage and come robbery that speaks clearly today. Derek Jacobi's narration is inspired and I strongly recommend this book to anyone for any reason

Fabulous

One of the, if not the, best books I have ever listened to or read.