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Persian Fire
- The First World Empire, Battle for the West
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
- Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
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Persian Fire
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Summary
In 480 BC, Xerxes, the King of Persia, led an invasion of mainland Greece. Its success should have been a formality. For 70 years, victory - rapid, spectacular victory - had seemed the birthright of the Persian Empire. In the space of a single generation, they had swept across the Near East, shattering ancient kingdoms, storming famous cities, putting together an empire which stretched from India to the shores of the Aegean. As a result of those conquests, Xerxes ruled as the most powerful man on the planet. Yet somehow, astonishingly, against the largest expeditionary force ever assembled, the Greeks of the mainland managed to hold out. The Persians were turned back. Greece remained free. Had the Greeks been defeated at Salamis, not only would the West have lost its first struggle for independence and survival, but it is unlikely that there would ever have been such an entity as the West at all.
Tom Holland's brilliant book describes the very first 'clash of Empires' between East and West. Once again he has found extraordinary parallels between the ancient world and our own. There is no competing popular book describing these events.
What listeners say about Persian Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charles Bertoia
- 18-02-21
Excellent narrative history of the Persian Empire
As always, Tom Holland produced a magnificent narrative history. He lays out the development of two empires interwoven by geography and ambition.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-01-22
Excellent
Brilliant prose brings the Persian's attempts to conquest Greece to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely listen again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mr Michael V Baynham
- 13-12-23
Persian fire or Greek history?
Maybe it was inevitable that Greece history would feature so much as that is what we are all steeped in. Persian history is so foggy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Jarvis
- 07-03-21
Gripping from start to finish
Really interesting and brilliantly narrated. History told as a story. Awakened an interest in a period of history I knew little about. Highly recommend
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diane
- 18-12-23
Persian history
Really enjoyed the viewpoint expressed in the book. Could al most be at the battles and see how they were won.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris I
- 29-09-22
Excellent history, brilliantly narrated
Excellent history of a pivotal period in history. Amazing how much we know about a period so long ago. Brilliantly narrated; a very enjoyable listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- carl crocher
- 27-03-24
First Tom Holland
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer 007
- 30-03-22
More about Greece than Persia.
Good narrative but I was left wondering more about Persia. Not enough detail as to how Darius and Xerses got to be so powerful in Asia.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-12-23
The definitive guide to 'how the west was won'
In true Tom Holland style, this is an interesting, humorous, and measured narrative of the who's How's and where's in the ultimate showdown of Persia v Greek city States. We've all heard of Marathon, Thermopaylae, and Salamis. In Persian Fire, we're brought back to origin stories of the key players and gently guided to what feels to be the inevitable and extraordinary outcome.
This book is like sitting down with a friend you've known for years and finding new and wonderful things about their past.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-01-24
Mixed feelings
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.
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