Just finished reading this book, Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield. This was suggested to me by my husband who typically gives me history and war books that I sometimes have difficulty following (I'm more interested in lifestyle and relationships than complex battle plans). But, I was totally surprised by this recommendation, in a good way.

The story is told from the point of view of Xeones, a Spartan helot, and leads up to the battle of Thermopylae. It took a few days to get into but by the end I was glued to the book and at one point I had 5 people hunched over an ancient map of the hot gates, examining the path of the Spartans.

To top it off, I timed this perfectly with my Netflix queue.. the movie 300 just arrived this weekend!