Thermopylae; the Battle for the West

Thermopylae; The Battle for the West

The Battle of Thermopylae has often been depicted as a "distinguishing

mark" of Greek resolve during the Persian war according to modern historians.

Although it was that, Ernie Bradford's account in his book Thermopylae: The

Battle for the West , sets out out to prove it was much more than that. He

wanted to show that it was the pivotal turning point in the Persian war that gave

Greece the ultimate victory.

Thermopylae: Battle for the West begins with a look at all the central

figures involved in the Persian war. Bradford assigned separate chapters to

Xerxes, the Persians, the Athenians and the Spartans to give the reader some

insight to their personality and identity.

The book then goes into great detail about everything that had anything

to do with the Greek and Persian relationship leading up to the battle. Bradford's

book of 240 plus pages covered everything from the bridges the Persian

Empire built to the relationships of the Greek City states.

In the front of the book Bradford provided a chronological order of events

that the reader could follow as a historical guide to all the major occurences

leading up to the final battle at Plataea.

His use of various maps throughout the book also provided a geographical view

of where battles took place, navigation of ships, and movement of troops.

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He also used thought provoking quotes such as Leonidas' "Have a good

breakfast, men, for we dine in Hades!" to keep the text from being a dry read. (pg 139)

In Thermopylae: Battle for the West Bradford also provided great insight

into the sea and land strategies used during the war by relying on his

experience as a former World War II veteran and yachtsman.