Persian Fire: The First World Empire, Battle for the West

If you enjoyed the style Rubicon was written in then you'll enjoy Persian Fire's style too: very readable, well researched popular narrative history. This book will certainly keep you entertained and I reckon it is very informative too. I don't share some of the other reviewers' comments about Holland writing with a bias.

The one thing that I would draw attention to is that if you read this book because you are curious about Persian history (like I did) then you might be a bit dissappointed. Whilst it will certainly give you much information about the Persian empire and will run through the time of Cyrus and Darius, the book is more about Greek history than Persian. Basically beware of the title; I was expecting this to be more about the Persian empire.

The book is about the conflict between the Persians and the Greeks but the author is obviously more comfortable with and more knowledgable about Greek history than Persian history. Nevertheless its still an excellent book - just don't be swayed by the title. Enjoy!

Accessible and authoritative history (0/0 people found this helpful)

A superb and thoroughly enjoyable read.
The author is a gifted writer, conveying the events with immediacy and elegance, as well as obviously having a passion for the subject and knowing it inside out- it's not often you find these traits in an author.
Highly recommended.

300 the real story (1/1 people found this helpful)

As someone who enjoyed the Frank Miller film '300' but also reads history's this book was an interesting find. I had enjoyed Holland's earlier book Rubicon as I felt it was a engaging lesson on the fall of republican rome. Holland's delivers again a book that is very readable and enjoyable.

Holland's, never one to give half a story, we are well near half way through before we get to the action the book is written for, and if I had a criticism is that it was almost long winded getting there. But I say 'almost' because actually it was both fine and necessary to understand the events leading up to the invasion. Including might I add the the bit where the Spartan king tells his Persian envoy that he will find plenty of earth and water down the well, before having them thrown down it (almost- just like in 300).

For me while I enjoy reading histories for the education it give and that it helps me understand this world, Holland's book are as interesting as History is ever going to get. No History is going to be as good as some fiction page turner thriller, but its close. If you have a view to read ancient history, this is a gem.

History made sexy (1/1 people found this helpful)

This is a fantastic book and an excellent read for historians and non-historians alike. Following the superbly written Rubicon, Tom Holland had a lot to live up to with his latest offering. In my opinion he raises the bar yet again, I consider Persian Fire to be the most gripping history book I have read to date and I read a lot of history books. Academic historians could learn a lot from Tom Hollands style of writing.

In the beginning there was confusion (1/1 people found this helpful)

This book is outstanding. I could barely put it down. Except at the beginning. At the beginning the centuries fly by (mostly over my head) as Holland lays the groundwork to the rise of the Persian Empire. In this admittedly necessary introduction the reader is introduced to dozens and dozens of Asian chieftains (all with tongue-twisting names) and the whole ebbing and flowing power struggle becomes very confusing as one struggles to remember who is who and who fought who and who betrayed who and who bribed who. It is frustrating to follow. I seriously considered giving up after about eighty pages.

How many of these details, I wondered, would I be required to remember to understand the rest of the book? But I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. The story slows down as the main subject of the book -- the Persian invasion of Greece -- approaches. I raced through the pages from that point on. The story is fascinating. However, another reason that I struggled to get into this book from the start is Holland's style. He tends to use such long-winded, meandering sentences that it's easy to forget the beginning by the time the end is reached! Here's one example, grammatically correct, no doubt, but tortuously long and riddled with commas:

"To the hoplites of other cities, the wealthy elites whose armour, every season, would be brought out of haylofts and dusted down, and whose tendency, in best amateur spirit, was to regard warfare as a ritual, if often lethal, sport, the prospects of meeting the Spartans in battle was a dreadful one."

Surely that can be broken down? Anyway, a third and final criticism I have of this book, and as I had with Holland's other book Rubicon, is that there's very little information about the everyday lives of the people whose exploits in battle he describes. This book is really centred on the great and the good of their times and of the battles and skirmishes that occurred during the Persians' campaigns. There are many names and dates to remember throughout. However, overall I will say that I enjoyed this book very much as an introduction to the period. It was as gripping as any thriller and only in hindsight have I started picking any holes in it! I was on the cusp of awarding Persian Fire five stars but can't bring myself to do it. It IS better than Rubicon.

Persian Fire: The First World Empire, Battle for the West

Tom Holland

Reader Reviews:

Very good but... (0/0 people found this helpful)

Accessible and authoritative history (0/0 people found this helpful)

300 the real story (1/1 people found this helpful)

History made sexy (1/1 people found this helpful)

In the beginning there was confusion (1/1 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories