Persian Fire cover art

Persian Fire

The First World Empire, Battle for the West

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Persian Fire

By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
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About this listen

 Tom Holland's bestselling account of the world's very first clash of civilisations between the Persians and the Greeks in 480BC

'Magisterial... told with great authority and a novelistic colour and verve'
Books of the Year, Independent

'Holland has a rare eye for detail, drama and the telling anecdote'
Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph

'An unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history'
Observer

'Holland brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life'
William Napier, Independent on Sunday

In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens took on the most powerful man on the planet is as heart-stopping as any episode in history.©2005 Tom Holland (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK Ancient Greece Ancient History Greek Mythology Ancient Greece

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All stars
Most relevant
As always, Tom Holland produced a magnificent narrative history. He lays out the development of two empires interwoven by geography and ambition.

Excellent narrative history of the Persian Empire

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Brilliant prose brings the Persian's attempts to conquest Greece to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely listen again.

Excellent

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I studied 5th century Athens with the Open University so very familiar with the characters and history found in this book. I can't fault the book for detail though even if one is familiar with the background it can be difficult to keep track of what's going on and of who is who. The reader was very good though his pronunciation of Lacadaemon with an S sound instead of a K made me wince each and every time he said it - which was a lot! In summary not the most exciting read but certainly thorough.

Mixed feelings

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The depth of detail, and the lessons were still learning from them today. Having heard many of these histories before, it's always interesting to hear another take, and find out something of the perspectives of the time.

First Tom Holland

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all pretty good. I'd recommend. hate typing
please make me stop. it's an audio book. why must I type

ripping yarn

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