It moves too slowly for me and I lose interest too quickly. I think I started reading this book a few years ago. I put it down after a few chapters and haven't picked it back up. I still look at it from time to time, but rather read something else...

A tough read in terms of following battle sequences, but overall action filled and interesting! I did find that the names were tough to follow with many of them being similar enough - maybe others wouldn’t have this issue though.

I love this book because the characters are so complex. The scene with Alcibiades drinking the night away and discussing philosophy in a tent with his compatriots makes you want to be there. Pressfield's writing really draws you in and you will see a little bit of yourself in each character. This book, although a work of fiction, is still an important allegory for modern politics, culture, life, pandemics, and society in general.

An entertaining dramatization of events surrounding the life of Alcibiades, a near-mythical character. The author brings ancient and unrelatable times to living colors. If you like Greek and military history, this story is worth reading.

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. Also as a warning it is mostly told from a soldier's point of view and has all of the attendant language that you would expect from a soldier. But I really enjoyed this book. It is the story of the Peloponnesian War, the 27 year war between Sparta and Athens and specifically about the Athenian General Alcibiades. The story is told by one Jason who was a student of Socrates and a leading figure in Athenian political life who was also somewhat of a lawyer and had defended Socrates, unsuccessfully as we know, and has now decided to defend a man who was a friend to Alcidiades and was the man who actually killed him (in the novel at least). Just a note I listened to an author interview and Polymides was a fictional creation but really believable in the story. I have no idea if Jason was a real character or not but Alcibiades was both real and a character. The story progresses as Polymedes tells of his association to Alcibiades through pretty much the entire war. The story is amazing in how many times Alcibiades was crushed down by his enemies, only to reemerge and come to power again in a different quarter and allied with people who had been his enemies. This book was also the story of the death of democracy at the hands of petty individuals who were able to sway public opinion and destroy each other. At one point in the war, six of the best Athenian generals are executed for not saving crews of sunken ships during a powerful storm. They were executed by political rivals who were able to incite the crouds against the generals who had up until that point been heroes. The book also showed how fickle the fortunes of public opinion can be. I don’t know if the themes in the book are more written because of issues that are present today or if these issues are more universal and have just been repeated over and over again throughout history. But I suspect that it is the latter and that we as a human race have not advanced as far as we think. The truly frightening thing is that we have that more powerful weapons than the ancient Greeks and that we are capable of much more destruction than they ever were but have not really progressed beyond much of the same political pettiness that plagued the ancient Greeks.

A really good book, however not so good as the gates of fire.

A great perspective on some massive history.

I didn't find Tides of War easy to read; in fact it took me much longer than most books. However, it was worth pressing on. Mr Pressfield's understanding and portrayal of the Greek armies and navies is wide and profound. He portrays the enigmatic Alkibiades as seen by his friends and enemies, some of whom are the same people.

This was a real marathon, I've never looked up so many words for a book before. I feel it's a real accomplishment getting through it... but now I need something light!

Alcibiades was but a slave to necessity. I loved that philosophy. When faced with something that is said to be impossible it should always be asked if the task is necessary. If it be necessary then it is no longer impossible. I know I don't do justice to this philosophy in this writing but I just don't think I've ever seen a more honest, or more hopeful, assessment of reality. Although the final fate of Pommo was anticlimactic, his story was anything but. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would strongly recommend it to anyone.

It took me quite a while to work out whether I liked this book or not. Certainly the pace is slower than Pressfield's epic "Gates of fire", but that in itself is no major issue. Tales worth retelling have their own pace and rhythm and should not, therefore, be rushed.

POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING
Historical fiction is a genre plagued by spoilers. There is no mystery to the outcome of the Pelopponesian war or fate of Athens. Likewise, the rises and falls of Alcibiades' star will not prove mysterious to anyone who performs the most cursory of wikipedia reviews. Yet in spite of these difficulties, Pressfield manages to create drama and suspense and a deep sense of engagement. You pity those at Syracuse and pity their eventual fate, curse the demos for their folly and feel a real sympathy for those innocents condemned by others machinations as Athens tears itself apart. All this when the main character isn't even that likeable.

It is a similar literary device to Gates of fire, converting the story to a retelling from a "middle man" - not to significant or brave, not too skilled at arms, not too heroic. Polemides is perhaps more believable than the helot in Gates of fire, certainly, the twists of his story inspire both fascination and intrigue.

There are moments, in particular early, where the tale loses its way, and it never fully seals the hole around Polemides' forgiveness of Alcibiades. Hence the 4, rather than 5 stars. The tone is frequently operatic however and indeed overall the book would play out well with a Wagnerian soundtrack and a libretto focusing on hubris and the fall of man. Well worth reading.

mp3

Read by George Guidell.

Peloponnesian Wars = Athens v Peloponnesian League fronted by Sparta



Starring Alcebiades on Death Row: From wiki: c. 450–404 BC), was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in the second half of that conflict as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician...

...he was a tricky customer.

This became cruder by the page, as there wasn't enough storyline; too many good things out there begging my attention. Next!