| # | Author | Title | Format | Pages | Release | Publisher | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 371 | Conn Iggulden | Emperor: The Death of Kings | Mass Market Paperback | 560 | 01 Jan 2005 | Dell | Historical Fiction |
Emperor: The Death of Kings Conn IgguldenReaderRating: 3.5 (36 votes) DateAdded: 09 Jun 2007 Summary: "Brilliant... stunning," raved the "Los Angeles Times" about Conn Iggulden's first novel, "Emperor: The Gates of Rome." "Iggulden is a grand storyteller," declared "USA Today". Now Iggulden returns to the landscape of ancient Rome and the life of Julius Caesar in a new novel filled with all the sumptuous storytelling that distinguished his first book. Sweeping from the windswept, pirate-ruled seas to the stifling heat of the Roman senate, Iggulden takes us further down the path to glory as Julius Caesar comes into his own as a man, warrior, senator, husband, leader. In a sweltering, sparsely settled region of North Africa, a band of disheveled soldiers turn their eyes toward one man among them. Ragged, dirty, and half starved, the men will follow their leader into the mad, glorious fight for honor and revenge that only he wants to fight. Their leader is named Julius Caesar. The soldiers are Roman legionaries. And their quarry is a band of pirates who made the mistake of seizing Julius Caesar—and holding him for ransom. Now, to get his revenge, Caesar will turn peasants into soldiers, building a shipborne fighting force that will not only decimate a pirate fleet but will dominate the Mediterranean, earning him the coveted title Military Tribune of Rome. While Caesar builds a legend far from Rome, his friend Gaius Brutus is fighting battles of another sort, rising to power in the wake of the shocking assassination of a dictator. Once Brutus and Caesar were as close as brothers, both devoted to the same ideals and attracted to the same forbidden woman. Now, when Caesar returns—with the winds of glory at his back—they will find themselves at odds. For each has built an army of elite warriors—Caesar's forged in far-flung battles, Brutus' from Rome's political killing fields. But in an era when men die for their treachery and their allegiances, the two men will soon be united by a shock wave from the north. There, a gladiator named Spartacus is gathering strength, building an army of seventy thousand desperate slaves—to fight a cataclysmic battle against Rome itself. Filled with unforgettable images—from the death throes of a king to the birth of Caesar's child, from the bloody battlefields of Greece to the silent passion of lovers—"Emperor: The Death of Kings" is an astounding work, a stunning blend of vibrant history and thrilling fiction.
Subjects
Historical - General Fiction - General Fiction Action & Adventure Fiction / Adventure 265-30 B.C. Caesar, Julius History History, Military Rome Servile Wars, 135-71 B.C. |
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| 372 | Conn Iggulden | Emperor: The Gods of War | Mass Market Paperback | 528 | 01 Mar 2007 | Bantam | Historical Fiction |
Emperor: The Gods of War Conn IgguldenReaderRating: 4.0 (14 votes) DateAdded: 19 May 2007 Summary: The year is 53 B.C. Fresh from victory in Gaul, Julius Caesar leads battle-hardened legions across the Rubicon river–threatening Rome herself. Even the master strategist Pompey is caught unprepared by the strike, and forced to abandon his city. The armies of Rome will face each other at last in civil war, led by the two greatest generals ever to walk the seven hills. Thus begins Conn Iggulden’s towering saga of Julius Caesar as he approaches his final destiny–a destiny that will be decided not by legions but by his friend Brutus and an Egyptian queen named Cleopatra, who will bear his only son.... For Caesar, the campaign against Pompey will test his military genius and his appetite for glory to their limits, as the greatest fighting machine the world has ever seen divides against itself in a bloody conflict that will set brother against brother until victory or death. But for Caesar, another kingdom beckons–a world of ancient mysteries and languid sensuality, where a beautiful, bewitching woman waits to snare his heart. "The Gods of War" follows Julius Caesar through politics and passion, ruthless ambition and private grief, and into the corruption of power itself. Those he has loved will play a part in his triumphs–as will the jealousy and hatred of his enemies. From the spectacles of the arena to the whispered lies of conspirators, Conn Iggulden brings to life a world of monumental drama. And at its heart is one extraordinary friendship–marked by fierce loyalty and bitter betrayal, with dark events shrouded in noble ideals. "From the Hardcover edition."
Subjects
English Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Action & Adventure Historical - General Fiction / Adventure |
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| 373 | Conn Iggulden | Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Hardcover | 458 | 01 May 2007 | Delacorte Press | Historical Fiction |
Genghis: Birth of an Empire Conn IgguldenReaderRating: 5.0 (1 votes) DateAdded: 15 May 2007 Summary: He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin’s young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a neighboring tribe and the abandonment of his entire family, cruelly left to die on the harsh plain. But Temujin endured—and from that moment on, he was driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon. Through a series of courageous raids against the Tartars, Temujin’s legend grew. And so did the challenges he faced—from the machinations of a Chinese ambassador to the brutal abduction of his young wife, Borte. Blessed with ferocious courage, it was the young warrior’s ability to learn, to imagine, and to judge the hearts of others that propelled him to greater and greater power. Until Temujin was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject unknown nations and even empires to his will.
Subjects
English Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Historical - General Fiction / General Historical fiction History Kings and rulers Mongols |
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| 374 | Conn Iggulden | Emperor: The Field of Swords | Mass Market Paperback | 624 | 01 Dec 2005 | Dell | Historical Fiction |
Emperor: The Field of Swords Conn IgguldenReaderRating: 4.0 (19 votes) DateAdded: 15 May 2007 Summary: CONN IGGULDEN taught English for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in Hertfordshire, England with his wife and their two children. "From the Hardcover edition."
Subjects
English Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Action & Adventure Historical - General Fiction / Adventure |
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| 375 | Conn Iggulden | Emperor: The Gates of Rome | Mass Market Paperback | 480 | 01 Feb 2004 | Dell | Historical Fiction |
Emperor: The Gates of Rome Conn IgguldenReaderRating: 3.0 (106 votes) DateAdded: 15 May 2007 Summary: Rarely, if ever, does a new writer dazzle us with such a vivid imagination and storytelling, flawlessly capturing the essence of a land, a people, a legend. Conn Iggulden is just such a writer, bringing to vivid life one of the most fascinating eras in human history. In a true masterpiece of historical fiction, Iggulden takes us on a breathtaking journey through ancient Rome, sweeping us into a realm of tyrants and slaves, of dark intrigues and seething passions. What emerges is both a grand romantic tale of coming-of-age in the Roman Empire and a vibrant portrait of the early years of a man who would become the most powerful ruler on earth: Julius Caesar. On the lush Italian peninsula, a new empire is taking shape. At its heart is the city of Rome, a place of glory and decadence, beauty and bloodshed. Against this vivid backdrop, two boys are growing to manhood, dreaming of battles, fame, and glory in service of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. One is the son of a senator, a boy of privilege and ambition to whom much has been given and from whom much is expected. The other is a bastard child, a boy of strength and cunning, whose love for his adoptive family—and his adoptive brother—will be the most powerful force in his life. As young Gaius and Marcus are trained in the art of combat—under the tutelage of one of Rome's most fearsome gladiators—Rome itself is being rocked by the art of treachery and ambition, caught in a tug-of-war as two rival generals, Marius and Sulla, push the empire toward civil war. For Marcus, a bloody campaign in Greece will become a young soldier's proving ground. For Gaius, the equally deadly infighting of the Roman Senate will be the battlefield where he hones his courage and skill. And for both, the love of an extraordinary slave girl will be an honor each will covet but only one will win. The two friends are forced to walk different paths, and by the time they meet again everything will have changed. Both will have known love, loss, and violence. And the land where they were once innocent will be thrust into the grip of bitter conflict—a conflict that will set Roman against Roman...and put their friendship to the ultimate test. Brilliantly interweaving history and adventure, Conn Iggulden conjures a stunning array of contrasts—from the bloody stench of a battlefield to the opulence of the greatest city in history, from the tenderness of a lover to the treachery of an assassin. Superbly rendered, grippingly told, "Emperor: The Gates of Rome", is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction. ""Emperor" is stunning.... Words like 'brilliant,' 'sumptuous' and 'enchanting' jostle to be used, but scarcely convey the way Iggulden brings the schoolbook tale to life...Iggulden knows that history derives from 'story.' And this story has barely begun. "The Gates of Rome" is its first, exhilarating, installment. Don't miss it." "L.A. TIMES" "A swashbuckling adventure story...dramatic historical fiction to keep adults turning pages like enthralled kids...a spirited, entertaining read. Iggulden is a grand storyteller." "USA TODAY" "Emperor rules... What a find. A first-time author who writes—wonderfully! Emperor combines the fantasy of Harry Potter with the historical details of John Jakes. Books don't get better than this." "CONTRA COSTA TIMES" "Iggulden excels at describing battle scenes both small-scale and epic." "SEATT
Subjects
Historical - General Fiction - Historical Fiction Action & Adventure Fiction / Adventure |
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| 376 | Thomas Flemming | NOW WE ARE ENEMIES | Hardcover | 01 Dec 1960 | St Martins Press | Historical Fiction | |
| 377 | Steven Pressfield | Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War | Hardcover | 448 | 01 Apr 2000 | Doubleday | Historical Fiction |
Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War Steven PressfieldReaderRating: 4.0 (107 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: After chronicling the Spartan stand at Thermopylae in his audacious "Gates of Fire", Steven Pressfield once again proves that it's all Greek to him. In "Tides of War", he tells the tale of Athenian soldier extraordinaire Alcibiades. Despite the vaunted claims for Periclean democracy, he is undoubtedly first among equals--a great warrior and an impressive physical specimen to boot: "The beauty of his person easily won over those previously disposed, and disarmed even those who abhorred his character and conduct." He is also a formidable orator, whose stump speeches are paradoxically heightened by what some might consider an impediment: Even his lisp worked in Alcibiades' favor. It was a flaw; it made him human. It took the curse off his otherwise godlike self-presentation and made one, despite all misgivings, like the fellow. This tale of arms and the man requires two narrators. One, Jason, is an aging noble who serves as a sort of recording angel of the Athenian golden age. The other, Polymides, was long Alcibiades' right-hand man, yet is now imprisoned for his murder. As they were in his previous novel, Pressfield's battle scenes are extraordinarily vivid and visceral. This time, however, many of these elemental clashes take place on water. "As far as sight could carry, the sea stood curtained with smoke and paved with warcraft. Immediately left, a battleship had rammed one of the vessels in the wall; all three of her banks were backing water furiously, to extract and ram again, while across the breach screamed storms of stones, darts, and brands of such density that the air appeared solid with steel and flame." In addition to his gift for rendering patriotic gore, the author excels at quieter but no less deadly forms of combat. As Alcibiades' star rises and falls and rises again, we are escorted directly into the snakepit of Athenian realpolitik. Bathing us in the details of a distant era, Pressfield is largely convincing. But it must be said that his diction exhibits a sometimes comical variegation, sliding from Homeric rhetoric to tough-guy speak to the sort of casual Anglicisms we might expect from Evelyn Waugh's far-from-bright young things. No matter. "Tides of War" conquers by sheer storytelling prowess, reminding us that war was--and is--a highly addictive version of hell. "--Darya Silver"
Subjects
Alcibiades American Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Generals Greece Historical - General History Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C Statesmen War War & Military Fiction / General Historical fiction |
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| 378 | Bernard Cornwell | Sharpe's Tiger | Trade Paperback | 400 | 01 Aug 1999 | Harper Paperbacks | Historical Fiction |
Sharpe's Tiger Bernard CornwellReaderRating: 4.5 (76 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: In a battery of events that will make a hero out of an illiterate private, a young Richard Sharpe poses as the enemy to bring down a ruthless Indian dictator backed by fearsome French troops. The year is 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just beginning his military career. An inexperienced young private in His Majesty's service, Sharpe becomes part of an expedition to India to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive out his French allies. To penetrate the Tippoo's city and make contact with a Scottish spy being held prisoner there, Sharpe has to pose as a deserter. Success will make him a sergeant, but failure will turn him over to the Tippoo's brutal executioners -- or, worse -- his man-eating tigers. Picking his way through an exotic and alien world. Sharpe realizes that one slip will mean disaster. And when the furious British assault on the city finally begins, Sharpe must take up arms against his true comrades to preserve his false identity, risking death at their hands in order to avoid detection and thus to foil the Tippoo's well-set trap.
Subjects
18th century English Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Great Britain Historical - General History History, Military India Mysore War, 1799 Sharpe, Richard (Fictitious ch Sharpe, Richard (Fictitious character) Sieges War & Military Fiction / General |
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| 379 | Bernard Cornwell | Enemy of God: A Novel of Arthur | Trade Paperback | 397 | 01 Mar 1998 | St. Martin's Griffin | Historical Fiction |
Enemy of God: A Novel of Arthur Bernard CornwellReaderRating: 4.5 (51 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: Cornwell furnishes a provocative look at the Arthurian legends in "Enemy of God", the second book in the Warlords Chronicle. This version of the tale takes place during the Dark Ages, when even the lords of the land lived in thatched huts. Arthur, still defending Britain for his younger half-brother Mordred, faces religious uprisings, Saxon invasions, and disloyalty at the heart of the kingdom. His uncompromising belief in oaths and his optimistic blindness to human betrayal isolate him from even his closest friends. At the same time, Merlin's quest for the Cauldron (read Holy Grail) also becomes entangled in treachery. Cornwell's writing skills have continued to evolve since his journeyman Sharpe series, and "Enemy of God" combines intriguing descriptions of Druidical magic with the war-ravaged landscape of Dark Ages Britain, without holding back on the brutality of vengeance and war. The Matter of Britain always commands interest, and Cornwell invests the usual splendor and tragedy with the human squalor of the times. "--Blaise Selby"
Subjects
Adaptations Arthurian romances Britons Fantasy fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Historical - Arthurian Historical - General Kings and rulers Fiction / General |
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| 380 | Bernard Cornwell | The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur | Trade Paperback | 433 | 01 Apr 1997 | St. Martin's Griffin | Historical Fiction |
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur Bernard CornwellReaderRating: 4.5 (142 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: Essentially this is a modern political thriller, told in flat American diction. Narrated by Derfel, an ordinary, likable man who rises through the ranks to become Arthur's friend and advisor in peace and war, the story doesn't follow the traditional patterns. Mordred is Uther's infant grandson, the legitimate king; Arthur is one of Mordred's guardians, sworn to hold the kingdom against the Saxon warlords until Mordred comes of age. Warfare is incessant. Arthur's dream of peace and unity seems unattainable. Derfel's own story--his strange origin, his love for Nimue, his worries and his triumphs--parallels Arthur's as he fights for and beside him. Bernard Cornwell downplays the magic that enlivens the traditional stories, depicting it more as a combination of superstition and shrewd wits. I recommend this with reservations; though it's absorbing to read, the emphasis on battles and politics means that this will greatly appeal to some fantasy readers, but disappoint others.
Subjects
Arthur, Fantasy fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Historical - Arthurian Historical - General King Fiction / General |
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| 381 | Bernard Cornwell | Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur | Trade Paperback | 436 | 01 Jul 1999 | St. Martin's Griffin | Historical Fiction |
Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur Bernard CornwellReaderRating: 5.0 (67 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: The third novel in the Warlords Chronicle, "Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur" immerses the reader in the Britain of the Dark Ages. Merlin, the greatest of the Druids, believes that the ancient gods are deserting Britain, and that the invading Saxons can't be defeated without the gods' help. Mordred reigns with a brutal hand, and Arthur sees his dreams of peace evaporate. The author provides exciting descriptions of swordplay and battles, interspersed with somewhat gruesome depictions of ordinary life in those days--greasy, waist-length beards serving as napkins, lambs bloodily sacrificed before festivals, and rampant lice. But at the heart of "Excalibur"--what makes the Arthurian legends eternally fascinating--is the larger-than-life company of heroes, from Sagramor the warrior to Taliesin the bard, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Arturus Rex himself. Cornwell treats them all with warmth and dignity, revealing their human qualities without unnecessarily reinventing them. This three-part saga of magic and bloodshed will grip readers from the first page of "The Winter King", through "Enemy of God", to the last page of "Excalibur". "--Blaise Selby"
Subjects
Adaptations Arthur, Arthurian romances Fiction Fiction - Historical General Great Britain Historical - Arthurian History King To 1066 Fiction / Historical |
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| 382 | Jeff Shaara | Gods and Generals | Hardcover | 512 | 01 May 1996 | Ballantine Books | Historical Fiction |
Gods and Generals Jeff ShaaraReaderRating: 4.0 (221 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: In a prequel of sorts to his father Michael Shaara's 1974 epic novel "The Killer Angels", Jeff Shaara explores the lives of Generals Lee, Hancock, Jackson and Chamberlain as the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg approaches. Shaara captures the disillusionment of both Lee and Hancock early in their careers, Lee's conflict with loyalty, Jackson's overwhelming Christian ethic and Chamberlain's total lack of experience, while illustrating how each compensated for shortcomings and failures when put to the test. The perspectives of the four men, particularly concerning the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, make vivid the realities of war.
Subjects
1824-1863 American First Novelists American Historical Fiction Civil War, 1861-1865 Fiction Fiction - Historical Generals Historical - General History Jackson, Stonewall, United States Fiction / Historical Jackson, Stonewall |
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| 383 | Jeff Shaara | Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution | Hardcover | 512 | 01 Jul 2001 | Ballantine Books | Historical Fiction |
Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution Jeff ShaaraReaderRating: 4.5 (138 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: Jeff Shaara dazzled readers with his bestselling novels "Gods" "and Generals," "The Last Full Measure", and "Gone for Soldiers". Now the acclaimed author who illuminated the Civil War and the Mexican-American War brilliantly brings to life the American Revolution, creating a superb saga of the men who helped to forge the destiny of a nation. In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command??Fire!??as England?s peacekeeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred. The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies. Outraged by the increasing loss of their liberties, an extraordinary gathering of America?s most inspiring characters confronts the British presence with the ideals that will change history. John Adams, the idealistic attorney devoted to the law, who rises to greatness by the power of his words . . . Ben Franklin, one of the most celebrated men of his time, the elderly and audacious inventor and philosopher who endures firsthand the hostile prejudice of the British government . . . Thomas Gage, the British general given the impossible task of crushing a colonial rebellion without starting an all-out war . . . George Washington, the dashing Virginian whose battle experience in the French and Indian War brings him the recognition that elevates him to command of a colonial army . . . and many other immortal names from the Founding Family of the colonial struggle?Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee? captured as never before in their full flesh-and-blood humanity. More than a powerful portrait of the people and purpose of the revolution, "Rise to Rebellion" is a vivid account of history?s most pivotal events. The Boston Tea Party, the battles of Concord and Bunker Hill?all are recreated with the kind of breathtaking detail only a master like Jeff Shaara can muster. His most impressive achievement, "Rise to Rebellion" reveals with new immediacy how philosophers became fighters, ideas their ammunition, and how a scattered group of colonies became the United States of America.
Subjects
Fiction Fiction - Historical Historical - General Historical fiction History Revolution, 1775-1783 Shaara, Michael - Prose & Criticism United States War stories Fiction / Historical |
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| 384 | Michael Shaara | The Killer Angels | Trade Paperback | 400 | 01 May 1996 | Ballantine Books | Historical Fiction |
The Killer Angels Michael ShaaraReaderRating: 4.5 (476 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: This novel reveals more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of learned nonfiction on the same subject. Michael Shaara's account of the three most important days of the Civil War features deft characterizations of all of the main actors, including Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock. The most inspiring figure in the book, however, is Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment of volunteers held the Union's left flank on the second day of the battle. This unit's bravery at Little Round Top helped turned the tide of the war against the rebels. There are also plenty of maps, which convey a complete sense of what happened July 1-3, 1863. Reading about the past is rarely so much fun as on these pages.
Subjects
Civil War, 1861-1865 Fiction Fiction - Historical Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1863 Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysb Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863 Historical - General History Pennsylvania Schulberg, Budd - Prose & Criticism War & Military Fiction / Historical |
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| 385 | Jeff Shaara | The Last Full Measure | Trade Paperback | 576 | 01 Apr 1999 | Ballantine Books | Historical Fiction |
The Last Full Measure Jeff ShaaraReaderRating: 4.5 (123 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: Author Jeff Shaara rounds out the Civil War trilogy started by his late father Michael Shaara, whose book "The Killer Angels" describes the Battle of Gettysburg. Just as Jeff Shaara's "Gods and Generals" covers action prior to Gettysburg, "The Last Full Measure" picks up with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania and continues through the end of the war. Shaara focuses on the characters of Lee and Union commander Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, both of whom play prominent roles in the earlier books. He also introduces a new one: Ulysses S. Grant, the Union general who would finally defeat the South--something no soldier before him could manage. "The Last Full Measure" is often exciting and poignant, and fans of "The Killer Angels" and "Gods and Generals" won't be disappointed. "--John Miller"
Subjects
(Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885 Civil War, 1861-1865 Fiction Fiction - Historical Generals Grant, Ulysses S Grant, Ulysses S. Historical - General History United States War & Military Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence Fiction / Historical Lee, Robert E War fiction |
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| 386 | Jeff Shaara | Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War | Trade Paperback | 448 | 01 Jul 2001 | Ballantine Books | Historical Fiction |
Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War Jeff ShaaraReaderRating: 4.0 (86 votes) DateAdded: 05 Dec 2006 Summary: Having chronicled the Civil War in "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure", Jeff Shaara casts his eye on the earlier proving ground of the Mexican War in his third novel, "Gone for Soldiers". Although it secured the Southwest for a nation emboldened by Manifest Destiny, this two-year conflict has nearly faded into oblivion, eclipsed by the subsequent domestic dispute a dozen years later. Shaara's hallmarks--the deliberations of leaders and the brutal facts of battle--illuminate his engaging diversion into an oft-overlooked struggle in which men who would come to oppose one another fought under a single flag. The veteran major-general Winfield Scott and an upstart Robert E. Lee anchor "Gone for Soldiers". Headstrong, brilliant, and generally distrustful of his less able subordinates, Scott leads the U.S. troops slowly and inevitably toward Mexico City, imparting martial lessons along the way. "The worst consequence of fighting a war is not if you lose, Mr. Lee," he sighs. "The worst thing you can do is win badly." Lee distinguishes himself throughout the campaign, his meticulous scouting and shrewd inferences winning both Scott's admiration and the jealousy of officers whose ambition surpasses their experience. Lee, too, frequently assesses his place in the hierarchy, but he--like Scott--remains more bemused than seduced by the glitter of fame. This sympathy between the two men grows as Lee observes Scott embroiled in the distracting politics of war: officers salivating for promotion, enemies more preoccupied with saving face than lives, distant legislators issuing directives. If "Gone for Soldiers" occasionally bogs down during its many lengthy battle scenes, unexpected and delightful small touches arise nearly as often--the "capture" of Mexican leader Santa Anna's wooden leg or the chance encounter between Lee and a young Ulysses S. Grant. Duty-bound and humble, Lee cultivates a perpetual stoicism. "Now we're out here in some place God may not want us to be. It's hard to believe He is happy watching us fight a war," he muses, a sobering coda to the grim calculations of victory. "--Ben Guterson"
Subjects
(Robert Edward), 1807-1870 Fiction Fiction - Historical Historical - General Lee, Robert E. Mexican War, 1846-1848 War & Military Fiction / Historical |
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| 387 | Steven Pressfield | The Afghan Campaign: A novel | Hardcover | 368 | 01 Jul 2006 | Doubleday | Historical Fiction |
The Afghan Campaign: A novel Steven PressfieldReaderRating: 4.0 (22 votes) DateAdded: 23 Sep 2006 Summary: In words that might have been ripped from today’s combat dispatches, Steven Pressfield, the bestselling novelist of ancient warfare, returns with a riveting historical novel that re-creates Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Afghan kingdoms in 330 B.C., a campaign that eerily foreshadows the tactics, terrors, and frustrations of contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Narrated by Matthias, a young infantryman in Alexander’s army, "The Afghan Campaign "explores the challenges, both military and moral, that Alexander and his soldiers face as they embark on a new type of war and are forced to adapt to the methods of a ruthless foe that employs terror and insurgent tactics, conceals itself among the civilian populace, and recruits women and boys as combatants. Matthias joins Alexander’s army after it has conquered the Persian empire and is advancing east into Afghanistan on its way to the riches of India. Part of a unit that includes recruits his own age as well as veterans, Matthias chronicles his rapid coming-of-age as a soldier as he enacts Alexander’s scorch-and-burn strategies, experiences the joys and sorrows of a romance with an Afghan girl, and faces the barbarism of the Afghans, his fellow soldiers, and ultimately himself. As Matthias relates the brutal day-to-day encounters between the two sides, he exposes the human cost borne by a company of men whose code is humanist and secular when they seek to impose their will on a people of deep religiosity, insularity, unbending pride, and a passionate readiness to die for their cause. An edge-of-your-seat adventure that brings to life the confrontation between an invading Western army and fierce Eastern warriors determined at all costs to defend their homeland, "The Afghan Campaign" once again demonstrates Steven Pressfield’s profound understanding of the hopes and desperation of men in battle and of the historical realities that continue to influence our world.
Subjects
Historical fiction Fiction - Historical War & Military Fiction / General American Historical Fiction 356-323 B.C. the Great, Fiction Historical - General Alexander, |
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| 388 | Steven Pressfield | Gates of Fire | Mass Market Paperback | 480 | 01 May 1999 | Bantam | Historical Fiction |
Gates of Fire Steven PressfieldReaderRating: 4.5 (518 votes) Dewey: 813 DateAdded: Summary: Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie. Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, the site of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480 B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartan knights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King of Persia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartans would perish. In Gates of Fire, however, Steven Pressfield makes their courageous defense--and eventual extinction--unbearably suspenseful. In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds in flashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been captured by the Persians, and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal how his tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo, however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northern Greece was overrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted into the elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--an education brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough) not without humor: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsing the jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. His companions in arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to be the most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth. Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. They are also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp, uncluttered metaphor: The forerank of the enemy collapsed immediately as the first shock hit it; the body-length shields seemed to implode rearward, their anchoring spikes rooted slinging from the earth like tent pins in a gale. The forerank archers were literally bowled off their feet, their wall-like shields caving in upon them like fortress redoubts under the assault of the ram.... The valor of the individual Medes was beyond question, but their light hacking blades were harmless as toys; against the massed wall of Spartan armor, they might as well have been defending themselves with reeds or fennel stalks. Alas, even this human barrier was bound to collapse, as we knew all along it would. "War is work, not mystery," Xeo laments. But Pressfield's epic seems to make the opposite argument: courage on this scale is not merely inspiring but ultimately mysterious. --Marianne Painter Pressfield's first novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was about golf, but here he puts aside his putter and picks up sword and shield as he cleverly and convincingly portrays the clash between Greek hoplites and Persian heavy infantry in the most heroic confrontation of the Hellenic Age: the battle of Thermopylae ("the Hot Gates") in 480 B.C. The terrifying spectacle of classical infantry battle becomes vividly clear in his epic treatment of the Greeks' magnificent last stand against the... In 480 B.C., an invading, two-million strong, Persian army came to the mountain pass of Thermopylae in eastern Greece. Led by King Xerxes, they were met by the finest three hundred Spartan warriors where the rocky confines were so narrow that the Persian multitudes and their cavalry would be at least partially neutralized. Here, the Greek loyalists hoped, the elite force could hold off, at least for a short while, the invading millions. With an uncanny ability to preserve the ancient feel of the Homeric voice while bringing the narrative into the twentieth century, Steven Pressfield has crafted a completely absorbing and dramatic epic of battle and the Spartan way of life and death.
Subjects
Fiction - Historical Fiction / Historical Horror & ghost stories Historical - General Fiction War & Military |
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| 389 | Steven Pressfield | Last of the Amazons | Hardcover | 416 | 26 May 2002 | Doubleday | Historical Fiction |
Last of the Amazons Steven PressfieldReaderRating: 4.0 (47 votes) Dewey: 813/.54 21 DateAdded: Summary: With an epic scope and keen sense of detail, Steven Pressfield has created an entertaining and vital reimagining of the Amazon legend with his historical novel, Last of the Amazons. Combining myth with history, Pressfield offers a conjectural account of the legendary female warrior tribe as it may have existed in the years leading up to its extinction. Following the Athenian-Amazon war in the fifth century B.C., Amazon warrior Selene is taken captive and placed as an unlikely governess to the two daughters of a high-ranking Greek. The three form a lasting bond, and when Selene eventually escapes to return to Amazonia, eldest daughter Europa follows her. The Athenians, including King Theseus, assemble a group to find them, eventually traveling to Amazonia. Here, those involved relate the story of the Amazon war to the men, and the book's action really begins. Narrators tell of Theseus's earlier voyage to Amazonia, where his weakened crew was given shelter by the Amazons; the love affair between Theseus and Amazon queen Antiope; and the terrible consequences of the queen's defection and the Amazonian invasion of Athens that it inspired. Throughout, Pressfield instills Amazons with a grandiose sensibility, firmly modeling it after the Homeric epics of its time. Pressfield relishes in describing these events and their heroes with a divinely consequential spirit: Antiope advanced…Clearly no few of the foe took her for a goddess, with such splendor did her armor gleam and by such brilliance did her aspect exceed the common measure of humanity. The hour was still early, the west-facing slope deep in shadow, so that the Amazon, seen from the besiegers’ lines, advanced from gloom into flares of blinding dazzle. Some clumsy dialogue and clichéd interactions hamper the book’s emotional resonance, but the level of intricacy and constant action on display here keep the pages moving along. Amazon is ultimately an impressive, fun read that renders history spectacular in its speculation. --Ross Doll
Subjects
Theseus (Greek mythology) Fiction - Historical Women soldiers Historical - General Fiction / Historical Fiction Amazons Athens (Greece) |
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| 390 | Steven Pressfield | The Virtues of War : A Novel of Alexander the Great | Hardcover | 368 | 01 May 2004 | Doubleday | Historical Fiction |
The Virtues of War : A Novel of Alexander the Great Steven PressfieldReaderRating: 4.0 (60 votes) Dewey: 813/.54 22 DateAdded: Summary: "I have always been a soldier. I have known no other life." Esteemed historical novelist Pressfield (Gates of Fire; Tides of War) crawls inside the brave heart of Alexander the Great in this chronicle of the king's bloody and extraordinary accomplishments and boundless ambition. Presented as Alexander's confessions (and lessons) to his brother-in-law, Itanes, as the Macedonian commander and his increasingly reluctant armies try to figure out how to cross "this river of India" to engage in yet another battle, the novel tells of Alexander's father's last victory (the defeat of the Greeks at Chaeronea) before his assassination; of how, over his father's corpse, Alexander cements his plans for future campaigns; of his struggle with his "daimon," which would call him to glory; of his burning of Thebes; of his march east and his slaughter throughout Asia; of his murder of his friend Cleitus ("I felt his spine shear"). Alexander's voice swoops from high-minded rhetoric to earthy vernacular as he regales Itanes with bloody battle scenes and stories of horror and triumph. For devotees of Alexandrite military history—and there are many—this is a sympathetic if slightly overlong portrait of a man who knew no doubt: "Fame imperishable and glory that will never die: that is what we march for!" Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Acclaimed historical novelist Pressfield turns his attention to the ever-fascinating life of Alexander the Great. The rapidly paced first-person narrative is distinguished by Alexander's own matter-of-fact voice. The mighty warrior and king candidly relates his amazing exploits in spellbinding detail. The inevitable gore and glory of the many battle scenes ring especially true as one of the greatest military tacticians in recorded history chronicles both his martial successes and failures. Being...
Subjects
356-323 B.C 356-323 B.C. Alexander, American Historical Fiction Fiction Fiction - Historical Generals Greece Historical - General Kings and rulers the Great, Fiction / Historical |
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