Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Tides of War by Steven Pressfield ISBN 13: 9780553527315. Plutarch, Plato, and Thucydides have all immortalized Alcibiades (ca. 450-404 b.c.) as a peerless general and conqueror on sea and land, whom the tides of war and fortune always favored. Raised as a ward of Pericles, he was later a protégé of Socrates, and inevitably compared to the legendary Achilles. The destinies of Alcibiades and Athens were inextricably intertwined; the man and the city-state mirrored each other's boldness, ambition, and the fatal flaws that were their undoing. When allied, Alcibiades and Athens were unbeatable. When divided, he led Sparta and Persia to glory. At the end of his life, in exile from all factions, Alcibiades was shunned by his countrymen in their most desperate hour. Athens would rather fall than be led by its most brilliant leader. Narrated by Alcibiades' trusted bodyguard and hired assassin in a mesmerizing death-row confession, TIDES OF WAR is epic historical fiction at its finest--a full-bodied, flesh-and-blood retelling of one of history's pivotal conflicts. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. 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: 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. From the Back Cover : Praise for Tides of War : "Pressfield's attention to historic detail is exquisite, but he shines brightest in his graphic and brutal descriptions of battle and its horrific affects on soldier and civilian alike. This novel will remain with the reader long after the final chapter is finished." -- Library Journal. "Pressfield is a masterful storyteller, especially adept in his graphic and embracing descriptions of the land and naval battles, political intrigues and colorful personalities, which come together in an intense and credible portrait of war-torn Greece." -- Publishers Weekly. "On every page are color, splendor, sorrow, the unforgiving details of battle, daily life, and of the fighter's lot. Unabashedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving." -- Kirkus Reviews. "As he did in Gates of Fire . Pressfield serves up not just hair-raising battle scenes. but many moments of valor and valor and cowardice, lust and bawdy humor. Even more impressively, he delivers a nuanced portrait of ancient Athens, complete with political skullduggery, overarching ambitions, and reflections on the nature of leadership and the pitfalls of imperialism." -- Esquire. Praise for Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. "Pressfield's powerful, historically accurate novel explores Spartan society and the nature of courage without ever losing its narrative momentum." - - The New Yorker. "A first-rate storyteller with a first-rate story to tell. It is truly epic." --Margaret George, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra. "Intricate and arresting and, once begun, almost impossible to put down." -- New York Daily News. "Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life, and he does for that war what Charles Frazier did for the Civil War in Cold Mountain ." --Pat Conroy. "Fascinating and exciting. worthy of the top prizes in literature." -- Abilene Reporter-News. "A tale worthy of Homer, a timeless epic of man and war exquisitely researched and boldly written. Pressfield has created a new classic deserving of a place beside the very best of the old." --Stephen Coonts. "An incredibly gripping, moving, and literate work of art." --Nelson DeMille. Tides of War. A protege of Socrates and living effigy to the Demi-God Achilles, the universally-renowned Alcibiades was a terrifying foe and a priceless friend. His unequalled military genius determined the outcome of the shocking and monumental 27-year civil war between Spart and Athens in the 5th century BC. Read More. A protege of Socrates and living effigy to the Demi-God Achilles, the universally-renowned Alcibiades was a terrifying foe and a priceless friend. His unequalled military genius determined the outcome of the shocking and monumental 27-year civil war between Spart and Athens in the 5th century BC. Read Less. Tides Of War. The greatest armada ever assembled up to that time, the Athenian fleet that launched against Sicily in 415 BC, was destroyed in its entirety at the battle of Syracuse two years later. The hero of Tides of War is the real-life Athenian general, lover, and all-around Most Notorious Renegade Of All Time, Alcibiades. As a fighting commander on land and sea, Alcibiades was never defeated. Yet his city, Athens, condemned him to death not once but twice. The first time he defected to Athens’ arch-enemy Sparta, where he became “more Spartan than the Spartans” and contributed to the most calamitous military defeat in Athenian history, at Syracuse in Sicily. The second time he defected to Persia, Athens’ other great enemy, where he became “more Persian than the Persians” and again pushed his homeland to the brink. He returned to Athens, took over command and led his countrymen to victory after victory, until they rejected him again. Athens lost. Sparta won. Alcibiades, on the run in Asia Minor, was hunted down and assassinated by a party of Spartans and Persian mercenaries. He was the last man alive whom the conquerors still feared. Tides Of War. Available in hardcover, paperback, audio and e-book from Amazon, B&N, and indiebound. Tides of War : A Novel. Narrated from death row by Alcibiades’ bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation. Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens’ favorite son and the city’s greatest general. A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory. But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies. For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides — and ended up trusted by neither. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steven Pressfield's The Profession . Praise for Tides of War. “Pressfield’s battlefield scenes rank with the most convincing ever written.” — USA Today. “Pressfield serves up not just hair-raising battle scenes . but many moments of valor and cowardice, lust and bawdy humor. Even more impressively, he delivers a nuanced portrait of ancient athens.” — Esquire “Unabashedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving.” — Kirkus Reviews “Pressfield’s attention to historic detail is exquisite. This novel will remain with the reader long after the final chapter is finished.” — Library Journal. “Astounding, historically accurate tale . Pressfield is a master storyteller, especially adept in his graphic and embracing descriptions of the land and naval battles, political intrigues and colorful personalities, which come together in an intense and credible portrait of war-torn Greece.” — Publishers Weekly. Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War Summary & Study Guide. Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War Summary & Study Guide Description. Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War by Steven Pressfield. Tides of War by Steven Pressfield is a historical novel. It is subtitled "A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War", but also follows the story of Polemides, an Athenian soldier.