Tides Of War: A spectacular and action-packed historical novel, that breathes life into the events and characters of millennia ago

Tides Of War: A spectacular and action-packed historical novel, that breathes life into the events and characters of millennia ago

by StevenPressfield (Author)

Synopsis

Alcibiades - mercurial soldier and charismatic commander without peer on land and sea, a man whom fortune always favoured. Raised as a ward of Pericles, later a protege of Socrates, and compared to Achilles by the adoring Athenian masses, he was to become the key figure in the Peloponnesian War - the tumultuous 27-year civil war between Athens and Sparta that would devastate Greece in the last quarter of the 5th century BC. At the outset, for all his Spartan upbringing, Alcibiades remained loyal to Athens. But his popularity - and his arrogance - fuelled the bitter resentment of rivals who secured his death warrant on a charge of treason. Encouraged to flee for his life (and showing masterful pragmatism for which he joined the enemy, the Spartans, and went on to lead their legendary scarlet-cloaked ranks from one military triumph to the next. What became clear to the opposing states was that whoever had Alcibiades at the head of their army would control Greece. It was Aristophanes once wrote that Athenians 'love, hate and cannot do without him' and to the end, their glory and downfall were shared. Recounted by one Polemides, a seasoned soldier accused of assassinating the great leader, Tides of War is an epic, thrilling retelling of ancient, near-forgotten history. From devastating battles on land and sea to the vicious political infighting and back-stabbing in the city of Athena herself, Steven Pressfield again succeeds in bringing historical precision and human scale to those dark, dangerous times, and paints an extraordinary portrait of this remarkable man whose fortunes were to mirror the ebb and flow of the tides of war...

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 608
Edition: First Thus
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 05 Mar 2001

ISBN 10: 0553813323
ISBN 13: 9780553813326
Book Overview: Ambitious, exciting follow-up to the bestselling Gates of Fire, chronicling the devastating conflict between Sparta and Athens that became known as the Peloponnesian War.

Media Reviews
PRAISE FOR TIDES OF WAR: 'The very qualities that distinguish Ridley Scott's Gladiator are here in greater concentration...it is nigh unbeatable' * Amazon.co.uk *
'Extraordinary...Pressfield produces an even greater spectacle - and, in its honest, incremental way, an even greater heart-tugger - than in his acclaimed tale of the battle of Thermopylae ...The political complexities between Sparta and Athens, not to mention the cultural competition between them, are handled with a clarity that enlightens and captivates the reader at once...On every page are colour, splendour, sorrow, the unforgiving details of battle, daily life, and of the fighter's lot. Unashamedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving' * Kirkus Reviews *
'Pressfield has an impressive grasp of military history and an even more impressive ability to convey his passion in print. His battlefield scenes rank with the most convincing ever written - you can almost feel the slash of sword on skin and sense the shattering mix of panic, bravery, blood lust and despair' * USA Today *
'Every inch the equal of its predecessor' Publishing News 'A brilliant evocation of an heroic age...which sets alight the imagination and which thrills the soul with the trumpet tone of battle' * Northern Echo *
'Brings the destruction of ancient Athens vividly to life...Steven Pressfield has literally bookended the golden age of classic Greece...He continues to excel in depth of research, humanization of antiquity and power of description' * Los Angeles Times *
Author Bio
Steven Pressfield is the author of the novels The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of War and Last of the Amazons. He lives in Los Angeles.