Gates of Fire : An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, Stephen Pressfield coffee table books confidence

confidence

NPR • One of Time ’s Ten Best Novels of the Year • A New York Times Notable Book • One of O: The Oprah Magazine ’s Best Books of the Year February 1862

Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

and a fascinating occasional piece

playful and mischievous' Ali Smith'I was in heaven reading this book

Gates of Fire : An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, Stephen Pressfield coffee table books confidenceGo tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie. Nearly 2,500 years ago, in 480BC, at a bleak pass in a far flung corner of eastern Greece, three hundred Spartan warriors faced the army of Xerxes of Persia, a massive force rumoured to be over a million strong. Their orders were simple: to delay the enemy for as long as possible while the main Greek armies mobilized. For six days the Spartans held the invaders at