Customer Reviews

Tides of War

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This is a much more complex and demanding novel than his brilliant and fast moving Gates of Fire (reviewed March 28, 2000). This is also a very sobering novel for any American who assumes that our economic prosperity, our international position of unchallenged leadership and the stability of our political institutions are safe and unchallengeable. Pressfield's novel carries Athens from a position of stunning power and wealth just before the beginning of the Peloponnesian War to its defeat and subjugation to the Spartans after 29 years of conflict.

Athens was so powerful and so wealthy that it could survive a plague that may have killed one-third of its population (brought on probably by the need to crowd inside the city's walls to avoid the Spartan Army) and it could fight off Sparta, most of Greece and the Persians for decades. Pressfield makes vivid the decay of Athenian democracy into a bloodthirsty system of revenge and brutality that helps us better understand our own founding fathers' fears of mob rule, tyranny and direct democracy. He uses the life of Alcibiades, a brilliant general and politician whose victories were undermined by his enemies, as a thread that holds together a generation of war and pain.

This is a slightly demanding book to read but it will profoundly trouble anyone who worries about the human propensity to repeat history rather than learn from it. There is much in this work for any American to think about.

Yes, yes, we know Pressfield's great at battle detail and historically accurate story lines. More important in this work is the brilliant choice of character (Alcibiades) and the narrative technique of using two narrators (Jason & Polemides). Then the plot thickens.....Socrates shares the jail with Polemides and enters the script as well......Jason & Polemides have their own tangled web to unweave......this is a great novel that rises far above the thunder of the battle to enter the realm of a psychological analysis of democracy, theocracy, and a slew of both the finest and basest of human motivations.

This one wins on all levels.....Pressfield is cementing a beautiful reputation on these works.

I am very fond of Pressfield's work --both Gates of Fire and The Last Amazon -- but this novel, in my opinion, represents a bumpy spot.

Pressfield likes to use framing devices, and he generally makes them work well, but here they become confusing. The voices of Polemides, the narrator to whom Polemides tells his story, and at least one other character are used, and they're indistinguishable. This means that characterization, never a huge Pressfield strength, is lacking, and it adds a degree of confusion.

Pressfield, in this novel, had a vastly complex historical situation to work with. It's hard to criticize the plot for the many turns and twists, for the fact that the reader loses track of who's on what side, what Alcibiades' current standing is, and who Polemides is working for, when the reality was just about that chaotic. What it means, though, is that the essential narrative thread tends to get lost. Long expositions of political minutia and philosophy slow the text considerably. Alcibiades, rather than an incredibly charismatic troublemaker, comes across as a blowhard whenever he opens his mouth (or pen) in this novel. It's hard to see how he bamboozled so many people.

Pressfield's great strength is the representation of battle, and that does appear here with the Syracuse campaign. As ever, he combines elevated diction with soldier slang to create a unique and gripping tone. Though this book did not work well for me, I believe in the author and feel that he is among the most interesting historical fiction writers currently publishing.

The Peloponnesian Wars have an enduring intrigue, framing as they did the rise of the golden age in Greek arts, architecture, philosophy and science. The rivalry of Athens and Sparta lasted roughly 100 years, commencing in 490 BC with Athens's military consolidation in the victory at Marathon and ending in 404 BC with the defeat of its armada at Aegospotami. It has come to symbolize the competing agencies and ideals in warfare between nations to this day. The first wars to emerge from the mists of mythology to objective analysis and record, they were described in written chronicles by Herodotus and Thucydides. This heralded the transition from the oral, mystical tradition of Homer's heroic poetry to the 'modern' era which formed the bedrock of Greco Roman and then Western civilizations. Into this galaxy of events came the pivotal figure of Alcibiades, who anchors Pressfield's book. He was a student and foil of Socrates in Plato's dialogues, a military leader for Athens, Sparta and Persia; respectively playing agent-provocateur against former allegiances. He lived for conquest and to usurp the established order. Blessed with eloquence, bravery, passion and overarching ambition, he stamped his imprint on history, as much for self glorification as political necessity.

Pressfield's book is expansive in scope rather than penetrating. The perspective is colloquial and personal, which skirts the labyrinth of Athenian politics of the time. He has, though, effectively used some of the techniques Thucydides employed in presenting rhetorical argument to elucidate the underpinnings and objectives of the wars, with a modern accessibility. The lush, descriptive writing provides a sweep which tends to engulf the characters in the current of events. Like an epic film, the characters are caught up in a vast tide of conflict, at some cost to providing shading and complexity. Pressfield, however, has provided a reliable, gripping account of the saga. The story is told as a retelling of death row confession, by a captain of marines and assassin of Alcibiades. This added degree of separation, leads to some unnecessary, but not overwhelming, confusion in the narration. The author exhaustively presents the events, strategy as well as the experiences & attitudes of common soldiers. The battles of Syracuse and Hellespont are told in tactical, gory detail. This is an entertaining and informative novel, perhaps more in the 'escape' genre than rigorous history or literature, but still providing an illuminating lens on this seminal historical period.

For those of you looking for a simple way to determine if this book might be for you, reflect on two films: "Braveheart" and "Gladiator." If you enjoyed one or both of these films, you will enjoy "Tides of War."

It's a tricky task for any author to follow up a book ("Gates of Fire") that is destined to be a classic. Pressfield was up for the challenge, and make no mistake about it, it was a challenge. The task of covering 27 years in 400 pages, made more difficult by the complexity of the topic and the characters who play the lead roles, was one that most authors would hesitate to accept.

Pressfield did not shy away. He gives us a colorful tapestry of 27 years of conflict played out by real characters in real places. Where "Gates of Fire" introduces the reader to ancient land combat, "Tides of War" paints a vivid picture of war on the seas.

Pressfield's book gives us a painless and enjoyable way to take an entertaining history lesson. Most intriguing was the main character, Alcibiades.

For those of you who've read "Gates of Fire," you owe it to yourself to read this as well. It will be time well spent. For those of you who haven't read either of Pressfield's 'Greek' novels, now's the time to get hooked.

Mr. Pressfield's latest offering, in addition to being beautifully written and fastidiously researched, holds up a mirror to our modern "demos." In this era of "the politics of personal destruction," "Tides of War" serves notice that we so-called Moderns may have nothing on the political in-fighting, spitefulness and ad hominem shenanigans of the Ancients. Whether Mr. Pressfield so intended his tale to reflect is subject to debate; but how fascinating to view "firsthand" a city-state 2300 and more years gone by who, like us, bit the hand that fed it and vilified the man who brought them their greatest triumph, not over his actions in pursuit of duty, but over alleged perfidy in his personal life.

I gladly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story well-told. A passing familiarity with Ancient Greece is convenient but not necessary. The first person technique utilized by Mr. Pressfield is every bit as effective and un-affected as it was in his previous novels, "Gates of Fire" and "The Legend Of Bagger Vance." The only problem with reading this book is that it so immerses the reader that, upon completion, one may only sit, stunned momentarily, with the growing realization that, as with Alcibiades himself, it will likely be awhile before we see the likes of "Tides Of War" again.

I was drawn to Tides of War after reading Steven Pressfield's historic epic Gates of Fire, and found it extremely entertaining both in writing craftsmanship and in subject matter. The book's greatness lies not only in the enormous sweep of the Peloponnesian War with all its triumphs and tragedies, but also in the fast-paced and riveting "narrative-within-a-narrative" writing style, which Pressfield uses very successfully. Polemides, a first-person observer narrates the story of the charismatic Alcibiades, who rose to fame as an unsurpassed Athenian general/admiral who, at the height of his rising star, changed allegiance to become a top war leader for rival Sparta. Jason, the legal advocate of Polemides and who renders the second narrative of the book by recounting the war to his grandson, elaborates upon and "fleshes out" the story of Athens' downfall by adding his own experiences as an Athenian admiral and by divulging anecdotal stories of important third party Athenian generals during the war. Pressfield's writing genius is much in evidence for his vivid and majestic description of the departure of the Athenian war fleet for its invasion of Syracuse and for the Alcibiades-led Athenian surprise attack on Spartan-held Ephesus, as well as for Polemides' narration of the crushing, spirit-numbing final Athenian defeat at the hands of the Syracusians. Pressfield's unique prosaic ability accurately captures the dialogue of such diverse characters as Socrates in his discourse on Athenian democracyand the obligation for obedience to its laws, to the coarse, uneducated banter of the common foot soldiers and Athenian street-kids. This book is well worth reading, not only for its highly interesting subject matter, but equally for its masterful presentation by a truly fine historical novelist who is peerless in his knowledge and depiction of ancient Greece.

I very much liked Steven Pressfield's earlier historical novel Gates of Fire, which told the thrilling story of the small band of Spartans holding the pass at Thermopylae against Persian invaders in 480 B.C. Tides of War advances the action to 430 B.C. with the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, which saw Sparta and the other city-states of Greece try to reign in the power of Athens. His story focusses on the fortunes of Alcibiades (451-404 B.C.), the most gifted, though mercurial, leader of his day. Alcibiades was adopted as a boy by Pericles, the great democratic leader of Athens. By all accounts, the boy was physically beautiful, intellectually gifted and moraly unscrupulous. He became a great disciple of Socrates, with whom he campaigned in Potidaea, but contrary to the great philosophers teachings, determined to try his hand at politics. He became the worst kind of populist, opportunistic, demagogue--ultimately fighting for Athens three different times, but also joining the Spartans and even the Persians during periods when he had been exiled from Athens. He was the driving force behind the ill-advised decision to try to conquer Syracuse (415-13 B.C.), which may have been the single most significant factor contributing to Athen's eventual downfall, as the Expedition proved to be a disastrous drain on men and materiel.

Once again, Pressfield turns in an impressive performance. He's working on a broader canvas here, but demonstrates an admirable command of history, customs, battle tactics, and multiple other subjects. He is especially good at depicting battle scenes, with all their inextricable twining of confusion, brutality and heroism.

I did find the narrative structure of the book to be awkward. A grandson relates the tale that his grandfather heard from one of the men who was tried for assassinating Alcibiades. This results in three separate narrative tracks, indicated by italics and brackets and the whole thing takes on the nature of a Rube Goldberg contraption. Having the entire story told in the first person also makes the author's linguistic choices more noticeable, which seems like a bad idea. Even if you're eager to suspend disbelief, you end up noticing the uneasy fit between passages that seem as if they are meant to sound somewhat archaic and others that sound like film noir banter. It just doesn't seem like the immediacy of a first person narrator is worth all the hoops it forces author and reader to leap through.

There is also a significant problem with the dramatic structure of the story. For all his undeniable talent and charisma, at the end of the day Alcibiades is merely another tyrant, who put his own fortunes ahead of those of his country. Moreover, his various plots and stratagems were responsible for the decline and fall of the world's first great democracy. I suppose most everyone goes through a phase in youth where the Napoleons of the world seem like romantic figures--men who restore order out of chaos and bend the world to their will, however briefly. Perhaps it's simply a sign of age that I no longer find such men sympathetic, now they just strike me as trumped up bureaucrats who think they know better than anyone else how the world should work. I think the term that Pressfield uses is "necessity", which I guess he derives from the historical record, Alcibiades always thinks he knows what is necessary at any given moment. If the intervening 2400 years have taught us anything, it is that one man, or group of men, never know what is necessary; they merely impose their own vision on a typically unwilling populace with predictably disastrous results, as here.

In fact, I found the story most effective as a cautionary tale of the dangers inherent in depending on charismatic leadership and of trying to make direct democracy work. In I. F. Stone's book The Trial of Socrates, he tries to reconcile his own veneration of Athenian-style democracy with the, to him, inexplicable decision to execute the great philosopher. But the great lesson of that episode and of the career of Alcibiades is that the polity of such a democracy is "a beast needing to be fed", driven by emotion and envy, not an enlightened and rational body. The unfettered citizenry of Athens is really pretty scary and men like Alcibiades, who would exploit the baser instincts (in particular, the imperial pretensions) of the beast for personal gain, can in no wise be considered heroes, however bold and fascinating they may be.

Despite these concerns, I do strongly recommend the book. One of the great deficits of the modern education is how little we learn of Greek and Roman Civilization. Books like this one, which help to fill the gaps, and do it in a lively and accessible way, are invaluable. I don't much like Alcibiades, but I certainly enjoyed reading about him.

Those who have read Pressfield's previous book, Gates of Fire, will have a hard time recognizing this novel as being the same author's work. Whereas that one was focused on a single battle and thus had a limited time and place imposed on the action, Tides of War deals with the entire Peloponnesian war (all 27 years) and is all over the place in both time and location. One problem, for sure, for many readers will be the 'voice' of the story. It is told by someone who gets it from his grandfather who largly recounts what he remembers being told by a prisoner awaiting trail for murder more than 30 years before. Who is talking - and about what and when - is occasionaly a problem, but not much of one. It is usually clear from context and the story itself is so fascinating that it is hard to imagine not getting caught up in it. This is really the story of Alcibiades, the most complex (and 'modern') figure of the Golden Age of Athens. A man noted for his beauty, eloquence, intelligence, brashness, inventiveness, lawlessness and, above all, ambition, he almost single handedly forced the war between Sparta and Athens to become the grueling feud that ruined both. I will not attempt to recount his deeds and misdeeds. They are so fascinating that it is hard to credit them. He becomes the most loved, hated and feared figure of his day. Most of Tides of War is the story of Palemidas, the man who had been his friend, served him in war and ultimately assasinated him when Alcabiades was an expatriate living in Thrayce. It is a truely great story and Pressfield does it justice. There is no question that it is hard to keep track of changing alliances, reversing fortunes of war and politics and the many characters that cross the stage he sets for the reader, but all of it is interesting and much of it is very moving. This is a powereful and honest book which, by bringing war torn Greece of these days alive, tells us a lot about who we are today and how little we have advanced in understanding and political maturity.

The side story of Socrates, who languishes in the same jail as the story's main narrator, serves as the proverbial 'Greek Chorus' to help highlight important aspects of Alcibiades' story. This is a wonder book and I highly recommend it.

No one (even inside a university) must know Fifth Century Athens the way Mr. Pressfield does. He brings us into the frame with elegant language reminiscent of the time. Interesting characters, vivid warfare and a compelling saga.

Mr. Pressfield is fearless in staging this literary feast. I know of no other author who leads such a passionate charge into ancient history. Where was he when I was trying to grasp history in school. Bravo. Job well done.