Persian Fire

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West is a historical study of the Persian Empire by popular historian Tom Holland, first published in 2005. It won the Runciman Award.

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
The first edition cover.
AuthorTom Holland
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAchaemenid Persian Empire
PublisherLittle, Brown Book Group
Publication date
2005
Published in English
2005
Media typePaperback
ISBN9780349117171
Preceded byRubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic 
Followed byMillennium 

Reviews

James Buchan, writing in The Guardian gave the book a mostly positive review, praising Holland's writing as 'clear and uncluttered' and calling the set pieces 'thrilling'. However, he also criticized Holland's reliance on an unreliable source for information regarding the Spartan constitution and called some of the details 'anachronistic'.[1]

Geraldine Bedell, writing in The Observer gave Persian Fire a wholly positive review, calling it 'fascinating'.[2]

Dominic Sandbrook writing in The Telegraph gave Persian Fire a mixed review, calling it 'spirited and engaging' but criticizing Holland's attempts to compare the ancient world and the 21st century.[3]

Christopher Hart writing under the name William Napier in The Independent gave Persian Fire a positive review, calling it 'masterly and gripping'[4]

A mostly positive review in Kirkus Reviews praised the battle scenes as 'stirring' but called Holland's 'East-versus-West' notion 'anachronistic'.[5]

A review in Publishers Weekly was positive, stating 'Holland's graceful, modern voice will captivate those intimidated by Herodotus'[6]

References
  1. James Buchan. "Review: Persian Fire by Tom Holland". The Guardian.
  2. Geraldine Bedell. "The first empire builders". The Observer.
  3. Dominic Sandbrook. "A civilising influence". The Telegraph.
  4. William Napier. "Persian Fire, by Tom Holland". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25.
  5. "Persian fire". Kirkus Reviews.
  6. "Nonfiction Book Review: Persian Fire". Publishers Weekly.
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