Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World - Hardcover

"Impeccable...Enthralling...Vividly reconstructs [the Spartans'] finest hour." -"The Independent" "Briskly written...Offers a fresh look at the battle and the complex events leading up to it."-"Forbes" "In the annals of heroism, the Battle of Thermopylae is an archetype, a classic." -Noel Malcolm, "The Telegraph "(UK) "The real passion of "Thermopylae" lies in the author's sudden discovery that his subject is exciting to other people again." -"The Wall Street Journal"

Thermopylae re-examines a crucial act in one of the greatest dramas in middle eastern history: the invasion of Europe from the 'east' by Great King Xerxes of Persia, 150 years before Alexander the Great famously invaded the Asiatic Persian empire from the European 'west'. Facing the huge inrushing Persian army at the narrow pass at Thermopylae were a few thousand Greeks, at their head King Leonidas and his 300 chosen champions from the militaristic state of Sparta, who inspired the rest by fighting courageously to the death. The battle of Thermopylae - which means 'hot gates' - was at its broadest a clash of civilizations; one that momentously helped shape the identity of Classical Greece and hence the nature of our own cultural heritage. Praise for Alexander The Great: 'Thrilling . . . Combines the excitements of a soaring historical narrative with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale' Tom Holland, Sunday Times 'A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure' Sunday Telegraph