Steven Pressfield
Born 1943
From Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago · Nationality: United States, Trinidad and Tobago · Writes fiction
I was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother.
I graduated from Duke University in 1965.
In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again."
Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined.
GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since the first days of the invasions. E-mails come in by hundreds. GATES OF FIRE is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico. TIDES OF WAR is on the curriculum of the Naval War College.
From 2nd Battalion/6th Marines, which calls itself "the Spartans," to ODA 316 of the Special Forces, whose forearms are tattooed with the lambda of Lakedaemon, today's young warriors find a bond to their ancient precursors in the historical narratives of these novels.
My struggles to earn a living as a writer (it took seventeen years to get the first paycheck) are detailed in my 2002 book, THE WAR OF ART.
Quotes
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
The War of Art, p. 13 “The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”
The War of Art, p. 50 “It is a terrible thing to be a king, especially a great one, for one must serve ideals of the spirit at the price of lovers of flesh and blood.”
Last of the Amazons, p. 221 “I have always found the spear to be a rather inelegant weapon”
Gates of Fire, p. 47 “The greatest commanders never issue orders. Rather, they compel by their own acts and virtue the emulation of those they command.”
The Profession, p. 2
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Steven Pressfield in order
Books by Steven Pressfield in the order they were published, from The Legend of Bagger Vance (1995) to Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be (2022).
- 1The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance1995 - 2Gates of Fire
Gates of Fire1998 - 3Puertas De Fuego
Puertas De Fuego1999 - 4Tides of War
Tides of War2000 - 5Yaratma Savasi
Yaratma Savasi2000 - 6Sparta
Sparta2001 - 7Last of the Amazons
Last of the Amazons2002 - 8The War of Art
The War of Art2002 - 9Alexander
Alexander2004 - 10The Virtues of War
The Virtues of War2004 - 11The Afghan Campaign
The Afghan Campaign2006 - 12Killing Rommel
Killing Rommel2008 - 13Do the Work
Do the Work2011 - 14The Profession
The Profession2011 - 15The Warrior Ethos
The Warrior Ethos2011 - 16Turning Pro
Turning Pro2012 - 17The Lion's Gate
The Lion's Gate2014 - 18Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t2016 - 19The KnowledgeThe Knowledge2016
- 20La Guerra dell'Arte
La Guerra dell'Arte2018 - 21The Artist's Journey
The Artist's Journey2018 - 2236 Righteous Men
36 Righteous Men2019 - 23Man at Arms
Man at Arms2021 - 24Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be
Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be2022