Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West - Paperback

by Tom Holland (Author)

A "sweeping popular account" (The Seattle Times) of how Athens and Sparta withstood an assault from the Persian Empire in the cradle of Western civilization, from the acclaimed author of Rubicon and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is History

"Excellent. . . . There is an even handedness in Holland's treatment of both Greek and Persian cultural riches that is rare in popular accounts of these wars." --The Sunday Times (London)

Author Biography

Tom Holland is a historian of the ancient world and a translator. His books include Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, Persian Fire, In the Shadow of the Sword, The Forge of Christendom, and Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar. He has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Virgil for the BBC. He is a winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to "the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilization of Ancient Greece and Rome." He lives in London with his family.