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Persian Fire
- The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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 Great King of Persia, and thereby saved not only themselves, but Western civilization as well, is as heart-stopping and fateful as any episode in history. Tom Holland's brilliant study of these critical Persian Wars skillfully examines a conflict of critical importance to both ancient and modern history.
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What listeners say about Persian Fire
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean
- 02-16-17
Engaging
This is a dramatizing of the Greco-Persian Wars, not the history of the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great in the sixth century B. C. and was a massive Empire even by todays viewpoint. He ruled the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and well beyond the Danube River in Europe. Holland provides a brief history of the Persian Empire and also of Sparta and Athens. This brief history allows someone unfamiliar with this timeframe to understand the events under discussion. The immediate cause of the War was a revolt in the Greek Cities on the Ionian coast in 499 B.C. The Greeks were rejecting Persian rule. The revolt was put down, but in 493 B.C. the Persians launched a punitive expedition which was defeated at Marathon in 490 B.C. Ten years later the Persians again launched an invasion this time by both land and sea. The Greeks deployed at Thermopylae and Artemisium in 480 B.C. The Athenians were led by Themistocles and the Spartans by Leonidas. The Persians were commanded by Darius. In 479 B.C., the battles for Plataea and Mykale were fought and the Persians were led by Xerxes.
Holland tells these famous ancient battles in a dramatic fashion. He attempts to bring history to life and make a more interesting read. Holland provides a mostly pro-Greek account of these battles. It would have been great if he had presented a neutral viewpoint and provided detailed information about both sides of the War. I am very familiar with the Greek viewpoint of these battles and would have liked to learn the Persian viewpoint. Otherwise, it was a fun way to learn a chronicle of the Greco-Persian War.
The book is about 15 hours long. Michael Page does a good job narrating the book. Page is a multi-award winning narrator and has been narrating audiobooks since 1984.
42 people found this helpful
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- TS Dart
- 08-22-16
East Mets West
An in-depth look at the role of Persia and Greece in world history. From the title one would conclude this is more story about Persia however it is just as much the history of Greece and its role in preventing Persia from adding Greece to the list of nations conquered in its quest to build its empire.
Expertly written and wonderfully narrated, a must-listen for any history buff.
17 people found this helpful
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- Austin Keith Syers
- 08-03-21
Too much focus on the Greeks
Almost all of the exposure to the Achaemenid Empire people get is in relation to the Greeks - be it through 300 or Alexander the Great. I got this book in the hopes that it would tell the story of the Persians themselves, entirely focused on them. That is unfortunately not what this book is. It skims over the actual Persian history to get to Greece where it suddenly goes very in depth.
Where did the Achaemenid dynasty come from? How did they rise to power? How did they get so big? How did they consolidate their empire? How was it run? What were the people/cultures like? All of these questions are either touched on very briefly or even ignored entirely. Even Cyrus the Great they can't be bothered going in depth on him at all.
After practically ignoring essential Persian history, it starts going super I'm depth on individual Greek city states, their internal struggles/politics, conflicts between them, and the origins of democracy. Why? It's advertised as a book about the Persian empire but it's a book about the Greeks that mentions the Persians more than usual.
If you want to learn about the Achaemenid Persian Empire, do not get this book.
12 people found this helpful
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- Cam
- 01-08-17
Recommended by Dan Carlin - great read
This was the first time I've explored a source text recommend by Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast - no disappointments. It has a very similar focus on the human element; bringing the audience into the physical and psychological world of the past. Stunning in its detail and attention to the nuance of both the Greek and Persian worldviews, the book was a constant pleasure.
12 people found this helpful
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- ksarathy
- 09-23-16
The best of Tom Holland
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely! Wonderful balanced coverage of both the Persian and the Greek players.
If you know next to nothing about early Greek & Persian history, this is the place to start.
What did you like best about this story?
The sense of time and place. The Greeks won but it could easily have gone the other way. Holland brings a sense of drama to events long gone and all in all, a fantastic narration.
What does Michael Page bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Michael Page was wonderful in his delivery. Added a lot to the enjoyment.
9 people found this helpful
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- Dennis Jameson
- 07-31-16
Answers a lot of questions
The Persian empire comes alive, but it's an unwieldy bureaucratic nightmare. Biggest takeaway: Athenian democracy less than a generation old at time of Marathon. Citizens still trying to figure it out. If aristocracy still ruled they would have settled with Persians and willingly accepted Asian hegemony--most of the rest of Greece did. A fast read and I will definitely read again.
9 people found this helpful
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- Jack Cone
- 01-04-17
Hard on a novice.
Excellent for someone already well versed in ancient history. While details of battle were exciting and gave believable character to heroes, traitors and opportunists, descriptions of life (other than death) lacked depth and empathy. I presume a dearth of actual history made for shallow accounts of the in between tines, while much glory (and detail) was heaped on the fights. The first half of the book was more even, while the later half had intricate tales of the action, but seemed to leave out everyday life. Yes, I enjoyed the book, but as a newly interested history reader (as are many Audible customers, I'll presume), I could have used more posting of dates and especially tips on locations. A map and timeline could be added without a rewrite and would be immense boons.
24 people found this helpful
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- ALLEN L. LEE, M.D.
- 12-01-16
Persian Firefox
The story was well organized and gave the development of each of the antagonists history a logical rendition so the climactic battles were completely understandable. The narrator had a pleasing tone and reminds me of the Harry Potter narrator that made the listening so pleasurable. Time well spent.
6 people found this helpful
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- Clinton Kippley
- 08-27-18
More about Sparta and Athens than Persia
Two-thirds of the book is about Sparta and Athens. The remaining one-third of the book is about Persia and it's Empire. Disappointed, but the small amount of information on Persian culture was very good.
7 people found this helpful
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- Melanie Kirkland
- 09-28-16
Good Review, Though Not Much New
This work was good, though there is much more detail about the Greek side of the conflict, rather than the Persian. It sometimes seemed as though the author veered too far away from the intended topic.
7 people found this helpful
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- Sam
- 09-30-19
Wonderful
Have listened to this book twice now. Highly recommended to anyone interested in history.