What is Reddit's opinion of Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae?

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I highly recommend "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. Historical fiction about a Helot who was at the battle of Thermopylae, and captured by Xerxes forces while near death. Remarkable insight to the daily life and infighting amongst the city states from the perspective of a lower class citizen.

When the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq first started I read a few Mil-blogs, often written by Veterans who were turning to journalism as a second career and were embedded with troops. One of the mil-blog had a post about books mentioning a Colonel who had a reading list he encouraged his staff to read, one of the book was Gates of Fire which I decided to read.

It's a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae and the training of the troops who later fought in it. One thing I recall was that the strength of the Spartans lay largely in the discipline and their Phalanx formation.

The Phalanx had troops stand very close together with each Spartan's shield covering part of themselves and part of the person next to them, allowing both to use their spear. Because of this the most important gear the Spartan had was not his spear but his shield because without it the man next to him would not be covered and that uncovered person would not cover the person next to him and the whole Phalanx falls apart. It was their discipline and their willingness to protect the person next to them which made the Spartan's Phalanx so effective.

Anyway it was a pretty good book and I've gifted it to others in the past. You might enjoy it.

"Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. An epic novel spanning the life of a Spartan helot into the maturing man fighting in the Battle of Thermopalyae. Highly reccommended as the retired marines insight provides an underlying sense of valor and admiration to the Spartans tough military lifetsyle.

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531

I don't think anyone mentioned Fire at the Gates yet http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531

I read this book for the first time back in 04 while I was in Iraq. I've read it 5 times since. It's beat the hell up but I'm too attached to this copy to give it up. But if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Hi there, I am a 68W of 7 years and I deployed in 2017-2018, I also have a close friend who is currently deployed and we talk regularly about what they are seeing vs what I saw.

My biggest points of advice would be:

-Call up a local university with a medical program and ask if you can observe during any training/instruction they do with Cadavers (dead bodies). My PA had connections and got all us medics into the lab with cadavers and had us doing Cricothyrotomy, chest tubes, IO’s and looking at all the internal organs. That was massively beneficial experience to get to do those things on a cadaver.

-see if you can do rotations in the ER as a nurses assistant or something through your EMT job, this was also something we did prior to deploying and it was so awesome. Got to see and even assist with real trauma patients and even some pretty sobering pediatric emergencies and codes (combat doesn’t discriminate against killing stray children and you might see that).

-CARDIO: I am sure your already in good shape, but humping that pack, ammo, any special equipment and the aid bag all day drains you. I would say just throw on your ruck with some rocks in it and IOTV and put 4-6 miles on your boots every morning or evening if you can. My dog absolutely loves morning hikes with me and it’s a decent way to start your day.

Make sure you get into BCT3 (Brigade Combat Team Trauma Training): it is on camp bullies with great instructors and goes through deployed medicine skills and even a live tissue exercise that my NDA has not expired for yet.

Before you go: align yourself mentally and spiritually with why you are going and who you are. You are about to enter into the greatest test of character that many men face in this generation. Be sure you have prepared yourself for that. Here are some good reads to reflect on, each of these books can grant you perspective into humanity and war.

https://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531/ref=nodl_

https://muse.jhu.edu/book/72640

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=nodl_

Lastly: this will be one of the greatest adventures of your life. Things out there will be terrifying at moments, and slow the rest of the time. You will make friends that will last a lifetime. If you have the misfortune that I did you will loose some friends in under a minute while doing everything you can as a medic, that is not your fault. So much of what is going to happen will be out of your control and will be chaos. In the absence of order take action, whatever that brain of yours comes up with DO IT and adjust fire as you go.

I am pretty new to refit and don’t know how it works yet but don’t be afraid to reach out with any specific questions. I was in Iraq and Syria so I could maybe shed light on those theaters. However if your going “over the mountain” I am sure someone could give you tips.

PS- carry an extra towel or two with you. They seriously come in handy for so many things like a pillow, ice sheet, good for wiping blood out of way rather than burning perfectly good kerlix, can be used to clean literal human shit off the windshield of your truck that someone flung at you. Really just all around versatile.

And Gates of Fire

Is this the book you're talking about?

Lots of good stuff out there. You might look at

• Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground"
• Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire"

300 was fuckin stupid. Read this

There are some really great historic fiction novels out there.

Anything by Steven Pressfield, such as Gates of Fire

He explores historical events from the eyes of everyman protagonists who are there to see it unfold, to hear the famous quotes spoken in context. It's a great way to learn some history without being bored to tears.

The Silver Pigs is a detective novel set in ancient Rome. Another cool way to learn some of the culture in a fun way.

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531

I loved this one. It's fiction but a pretty amazing telling of the events that took place.

The Iliad isn't detailed or dramatic enough for your friend?

<em>Gates of Fire</em> and <em>Tides of War</em> aren't quite what you're asking for, but they're pretty awesome.

Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531

Alright, so this isn't actually mythology, per se, but it's incredibly epic. So, if you haven't already read it, I give you:

THE GATES OF FIRE: http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531