GATES OF FIRE

The Jack Carr Channel

Jack Carr

Society & Culture

4.9 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2025

⏱️ 103 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Jack Carr Book Club May 2025 selection is GATES OF FIRE by New York Times bestselling author Steven Pressfield. GATES OF FIRE is a modern classic of historical fiction that immerses readers in the grit, blood, and brotherhood of the Battle of Thermopylae. Told through the eyes of a wounded Greek survivor, the novel chronicles the heroism and sacrifice of the 300 Spartans who stood against the Persian Empire in one of history’s most iconic last stands. With visceral detail and timeless insight, Pressfield captures the warrior ethos in its purest form—duty, honor, courage, and the deep bonds forged in combat. The book has become required reading in military circles across the globe, revered for its authenticity and emotional depth. Steven Pressfield is a former Marine and the bestselling author of The War of Art, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Afghan Campaign, and numerous other acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction. His writing blends historical precision with philosophical reflection, earning him a devoted readership among writers, warriors, and leaders alike. In this episode, Jack and Steven discuss the timeless code of the warrior, the craft of writing, and the enduring power of storytelling. FOLLOW STEVEN Instagram - @steven_pressfield Facebook - @StevePressfield X - @SPressfield Website - https://stevenpressfield.com/ FOLLOW JACK Instagram - @JackCarrUSA X - @JackCarrUSA Facebook - @JackCarr YouTube - @JackCarrUSA SPONSORS CRY HAVOC – A Tom Reece Thriller https://www.officialjackcarr.com/books/cry-havoc/ Bravo Company Manufacturing - BCM Stock MOD3: https://bravocompanyusa.com/bcm-stock-mod-3-black/ and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA THE SIGs of Jack Carr P365 Collection: P365XL with Red Dot Optic, P365, P365X-Macro, P365 Custom with True Precision, and P365 Legion. Visit https://www.sigsauer.com/ and on Instagram @sigsauerinc Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here https://jackcarr.co/gear

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of the Danger Close podcast is brought to you by Cry Havoc,
0:04.0	from New York Times number one bestselling author Jack Carr.
0:08.0	Cry Havoc, a Tom Rees thriller, Order Now.
0:12.0	300 Spartans and their allies held off the invaders for seven days,
0:17.0	until their weapons smashed and broken from the slaughter.
0:19.0	They fought with bare hands and teeth before being at last overwhelmed.
0:23.6	The Spartans and their Thespian allies died to the last man, but the standard of valor they set by their sacrifice inspired the Greeks to rally and in that fallen spring defeat the Persians
0:33.6	and preserve the beginnings of Western democracy and freedom from perishing in the cradle. Two memorials remain today at Thermopylae. Upon the modern one
0:42.1	called the Leonidas Monument, in honor of the Spartan king who fell there, is engraved his
0:46.7	response to Xerxes' demand that the Spartans lay down their arms. Leonidas's reply was two
0:51.5	words, Mullen Labbe, come and get them. The second monument, the ancient one, is an unadorned stone engraved with the words of the poet Simonides.
1:00.0	Its verses comprise perhaps the most famous of all warrior epitaphs.
1:03.0	Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws rely. Let's just kick it off.
1:35.3	Okay.
1:36.3	First, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to be here, and especially with everything
1:42.3	that you've dealt with recently, with the fires, which I want to get into as well.
1:46.5	And coming on to talk about your second book, which is Gates of Fire, of course, and we will get to that.
1:53.2	But the whole point of the book club is to encourage people to build their libraries, to read,
1:59.7	and at the same time, to support independent bookstores.
2:03.2	Each month I partner with a different bookstore so people can go to that bookstore and
2:07.1	I don't get anything out of it.
2:08.1	Let's go to that bookstore to help support them at the book to the library read and
	...

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