- Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield (born September 1943 in
Port of Spain ,Trinidad ) is an American novelist and author of screenplays, principally ofmilitary historical fiction set inclassical antiquity . His historical fiction is well-research ed, but for the sake of dramatic flow, Pressfield may alter some details, like the sequence of events, or make use of jarring contemporary terms and place names, his stated aim being an attempt to capture the spirit of the times.To enhance his readers' immersion in ancient times, Pressfield typically writes his novels from the point of view of the characters involved. For instance, "The Virtues of War" is told from the first-person perspective of Alexander.
His epic novel
Gates of Fire is required reading at the U.S. Military Academy and theVirginia Military Institute Fact|date=April 2008, and according to the L.A. Times, "has achieved cult status among Marines."Pressfield served in the
United States Marine Corps in the 1960's, and later graduated fromDuke University .Historical fiction
*"
Gates of Fire ", about theBattle of Thermopylae (1998)
*"Tides of War : A Novel ofAlcibiades and thePeloponnesian War " (2000)
*"Last of the Amazons ", in whichTheseus , the legendary King of Athens, sets sail to north coast of the Black Sea inhabited by a race of female warriors (2002)
*"The Virtues of War ", aboutAlexander the Great (2004)
*"The Afghan Campaign ", about Alexander the Great's conquests in Afghanistan (2006)
*"Killing Rommel " (2008), a fictionalized account of a patrol of theLRDG during theNorth African Campaign ofWorld War II .Other works
*"
The Legend of Bagger Vance ", about a young man trying to come to terms with his spiritual demons through the medium ofgolf .
*""Film Work
Prior to publishing his first original works of fiction, Pressfield wrote several Hollywood screenplays, most notably 1988's "Above the Law" starring
Steven Seagal and directed by Andrew Davis, 1992’s "Freejack ", a work ofscience fiction starringEmilio Estevez ,Mick Jagger , andAnthony Hopkins , and 1993's "Joshua Tree" (a.k.a. "Army Of One") starringDolph Lundgren andGeorge Segal . "Joshua Tree" was directed byAcademy Award andBafta winning stuntmanVic Armstrong .His novel "The Legend of Bagger Vance" was made into a 2000
film starringMatt Damon as the golf pro andWill Smith as his spiritualguide .Steven Pressfield also appeared as one of the historians in
The History Channel 's 2007 documentary "Last Stand of the 300".External links
* [http://www.stevenpressfield.com/ Steven Pressfield Official Website]
* [http://www.learnfrommylife.com/stevenpressfield part of Learn From My Life]
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