Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Soldiers are philosophers by trade, as opposed to nature. Whether they are gifted logicians or readers or not, their profession demands a close association with death and life, fear and courage, love and hate, joy and sorrow. A soldier gets acquainted with these, not as abstract ideas, but as intimate realities which are a part of the day-to-day environment.

When faced with such larger-than-life concepts, though, words often fail, no matter how important or meaningful a place they hold in every day life. I've tried once or twice to put some of this/these into words myself, because I felt a need to share with people outside my line of work just what it is that goes through our heads. We service-folk aren't mythical or demonic, we aren't legendary or infamous, we are neither "The Greatest Generation," nor the worst. But having tried to communicate something of what I've seen and felt, I realize now just why so many who served so honorably chose to remain so silent as to their experiences.

This book, Gates of Fire, says all of those things I couldn't say.

As you may guess, the book centers upon the Battle of Thermopylae, the same subject as the movie 300. As you read through the book, you will see why that movie treated it the way it did. The heroism on display at that time in that place makes any comic book superhero look silly by comparison; it's only natural that Leonidas & Co. should have their own line of action figures. Seriously.

But the book goes further than just the names, dates, and places; it is not "history" in the strictest sense, though it strives for such accuracy as historical records can offer. More so Gates of Fire delves into the why and the wherefore: why did these men go, knowing they would die? how were they able to stand and fight knowing that eventually they would be butchered where they stood? what could possibly have motivated the greatest "Alamo" the world has ever known? The book excels in this effort, bringing the concepts of the heroic into terms that the average reader can immediately grasp, or at least imagine.

The book also shows quite graphically the scenes of warfare. As one seasoned veteran asks a shaken youngster "What did you expect? What sort of wounds did you suppose the sword and spear would cause?" But it also shows in painful detail the moments of poignancy: the moments spent at home with loved ones, carved indelibly into the soldiers' hearts; the moments after the battle when soldiers realize they have survived the carnage to live once again; the unbelievable courage of the families they leave behind.

I have never marched in a phalanx with spear and shield. I have never truly closed with the enemy, or grappled with him in anger. But if you want to know what a soldier thinks, lives, and feels, read this book. The times and technologies have changed, but the principles have really not. Thank you, Mr. Pressfield for writing this.