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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
fills the gap If you want to find out what the link between Persia and Greece was read this
Great popular history I greatly enjoyed Tom Holland's 'Rubicon', full of juicy gossip about those naughty Romans but also genuinely respectful of the little that was worthwile in their legacy. 'Persian Fire' is a bit different, being a retelling of a story in which the stakes were considerably higher. If the Persians had conquered Greece, there is no doubt that the history of Europe would have ended up being very different. Not necessarily very much worse, just not the same. The Greeks would not have been allowed to develop the... more info
Vivid account This fine book tells the story of an earlier war between East and West. In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, the terrorist states Athens and Sparta. As Holland points out, "even the mightiest empires can suffer from overstretch." He mordantly notes, with a passing hit at the British state's `special relationship' with the declining USA, "There was no greater source of self-contentment for a... more info
Fantastic A truly excellent book. Holland has a real talent for bringing the characters to life. He makes the events of two thousand years ago immediate and exiting by connecting them to the Western language, culture and politics of today. The book builds in impressiveness throughout the reading. The beginning chapters on the Persians are fascinating. The chapter on Sparta was amazing. The description of the characters and political intrigues of Athens was magnificent. Holland's portrayal of Thermopylae and Salamis... more info
