Posted on Jun 18, 2015
Steven Pressfield here for a live Q and A session Tuesday 6/23. What questions do you have for me?
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From Steven Pressfield: "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Your questions were great, and I hope my answers lived up to your expectations. I hope to come back and visit you soon!"
From RallyPoint Staff:
Steven Pressfield, Marine Reserve Veteran and author. His book, Gates of Fire, is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading list and taught at West Point and Annapolis. Mr. Pressfield visited RallyPoint for a live Q and A Tuesday June 23 at 4:00pm EST.
In 2009, Mr. Pressfield launched the blog “It’s the Tribes, Stupid” with the intention of helping explain the tribal mindset in Afghanistan to the Marines and Soldiers on the ground. Over the past decade he has dedicated himself to the study of war, releasing The Warrior Ethos, The Virtues of War, Tides of War, The Afghan Campaign, and most recently The Lion’s Gate: a study of the Six Day War in Israel in June of 1967.
This coming Tuesday Mr. Pressfield will be joining us to discuss the history behind any of his books, including:
- The inspiration for Gates of Fire
- What is the “Warrior Ethos”?
- How did the supportive society surrounding the Spartan “pure warriors” enable or improve their military?
- Why should we pay attention to the Six Day War?
- Perspective on Israel’s state of conflict
- Learnings from conversations with members of the IDF?
You can grab a copy of The Lion’s Gate here: http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Gate-Front-Lines-Six/dp/ [login to see] /ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
From RallyPoint Staff:
Steven Pressfield, Marine Reserve Veteran and author. His book, Gates of Fire, is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading list and taught at West Point and Annapolis. Mr. Pressfield visited RallyPoint for a live Q and A Tuesday June 23 at 4:00pm EST.
In 2009, Mr. Pressfield launched the blog “It’s the Tribes, Stupid” with the intention of helping explain the tribal mindset in Afghanistan to the Marines and Soldiers on the ground. Over the past decade he has dedicated himself to the study of war, releasing The Warrior Ethos, The Virtues of War, Tides of War, The Afghan Campaign, and most recently The Lion’s Gate: a study of the Six Day War in Israel in June of 1967.
This coming Tuesday Mr. Pressfield will be joining us to discuss the history behind any of his books, including:
- The inspiration for Gates of Fire
- What is the “Warrior Ethos”?
- How did the supportive society surrounding the Spartan “pure warriors” enable or improve their military?
- Why should we pay attention to the Six Day War?
- Perspective on Israel’s state of conflict
- Learnings from conversations with members of the IDF?
You can grab a copy of The Lion’s Gate here: http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Gate-Front-Lines-Six/dp/ [login to see] /ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Marines
Reading
Q&A
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 13
Hi Mr. Pressfield,
First, I'd just like to say I'm truly astounded by your spectrum of work. From fictional sports, to ancient historical fiction, to sci-fi, you're quite a talented author.
My question is you've mentioned the "warrior ethos" in some of your work. Would you say we have a clear code/direction/purpose in today's military? Do you think the causes/operations our military is engaged in truly resonates with our warriors? Our society?
First, I'd just like to say I'm truly astounded by your spectrum of work. From fictional sports, to ancient historical fiction, to sci-fi, you're quite a talented author.
My question is you've mentioned the "warrior ethos" in some of your work. Would you say we have a clear code/direction/purpose in today's military? Do you think the causes/operations our military is engaged in truly resonates with our warriors? Our society?
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
I think the men and women I've met, Carlos, DO have a clear code. But I'm not so sure that the operations/wars that the US has been involved in (for a long time) work with that code, or that the code works with them. How do you fight ISIS with honor? You've hit on a really critical question here. I don't know if I have the answer.
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Steven! What an honor to have you here! I've been meaning for weeks to ask the RP staff to invite you for a live Q&A, it looks like they beat me to it! Some day I'm going to have to go back through all my posts here on RP where I've linked to your books and tag you so you can see just how often I cite your works in examples to fellow Servicemembers here.
My question is a simple but hard one: which of your books is your favorite?
My question is a simple but hard one: which of your books is your favorite?
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
That's a great question. Of course books are like children, you love 'em all. But my favorite is "Tides of War" (which is far from the most popular), because it's the most ambitious, the deepest, and I love the characters -- and it resonates the most deeply with the problems the contemporary U.S. and U.S. military are dealing with.
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Thanks for spending time with us Steven! I need to get out there and read some of your work soon. These books look like excellent reads. For any service members who might be aspiring authors, what advice would you lend them now to better prepare for the day they want to put pen to paper?
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Capt Richard I P.
Brandon, I'm sure Steven will provide an excellent answer to your question, but if you're impatient or want the details, he's written three books on how to write: The War of Art, Turning Pro, and Do The Work.
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1SG (Join to see)
Capt Brandon Charters You should find Gates of Fire an excellent read. It is on many military required reading lists, to include FL NG OCS.
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
Another great question that could be answered in a whole book. The one mistake that first-time writers who have served in the military make is they think that their experiences, by themselves, are so fascinating that all they have to do is recount them, A, B, C, in order and readers will be riveted. Of course it takes a lot more than that. I could talk for hours about this. The short version is that the aspiring writer needs to look at his or her experiences as if they happened to someone else. In other words, take the ego out of it. He or she must present their lessons or feelings or experiences with the same care that a writer of fiction would apply. Sorry this is so short an answer. It's such a deep question.
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This is going to be a great experience. Your books cover my absolute, all time favorite topics and are on my shelf, as well as my father and brother. My father's love of history was passed down from father to son. I can't wait to tell him that the author of the very books he has turned us on to over the years is doing a private Q & A session. There is nothing more inspiring than learning lessons from the underdog, who despite overwhelming odds, stood their ground. My question isn't on the list of subjects, but I'm really interested to know what do you have next for us? Also, I don't want you to endorse anyone else's works, but if you could recommend any documentaries/movies/etc rearding Israel's plight that young teenagers could get behind that would be very helpful. I am trying to find some basic core information to build upon so my teenage daughter can have a better understanding of the complexity of the current situation and how much it affects the entire world.
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
Mark, there's a wonderful book (full disclosure, I'm one of the publishers) called SOLITARY by Giora Romm. He was Israel's first fighter pilot ace. The book is about when he was shot down over Egypt and captured. It goes very deep, way beyond a "war story" because Romm is such a smart, funny, deep-thinking guy. Highly recommended. Another great book (and it's short) is by Yael Dayan called ISRAEL JOURNAL, JUNE 1967. Yael is Moshe Dayan's daughter and the book is about her experiences as a war correspondent with Ariel Sharon's armored division in Sinai. She wrote it in English, very fast, right after the war. It's vivid and visceral. Great stuff. As for what I'm doing next, I'm actually writing a book about my experiences writing THE LION'S GATE. It was life-changer for me as a secular American Jew, who couldn't even spell "shalom," going to Israel for the first time and immersing myself in that world that was my birthright but that I had never really known and even thought deeply about my place in. It's called AN AMERICAN JEW and it'll come out around Christmas (or I should say, Hanukkah.)
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Since the topics of your books cover a pretty broad gamut, I'm hoping my question won't be considered out of line due to it's political ramifications. While an active duty Marine, I followed orders and kept my misgivings to myself about the justification of some of our military excursions. As somewhat of a casual historian, I've read a great deal about the historical use of our nation's military, including the deeply held beliefs of our Founding Fathers regarding a "standing army" and its use. I also adhere to similar thoughts as held by MajGen Smedley Butler, USMC and President Dwight Eisenhower who both warned against an establishment that would wage wars of convenience at the expense of many, but for the profit of a very few - an establishment that operated beyond the control and true oversight of the People.
My question is this: Do you feel our military has been used in ways that are contrary to the intent of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, and of our Founders, in recent decades? If so, what do you think is the best way to frame a discussion that includes elected officials, voting Americans and senior military leadership in the process of correcting misuse of our military and the unnecessary spilling of our servicemen's blood?
My question is this: Do you feel our military has been used in ways that are contrary to the intent of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, and of our Founders, in recent decades? If so, what do you think is the best way to frame a discussion that includes elected officials, voting Americans and senior military leadership in the process of correcting misuse of our military and the unnecessary spilling of our servicemen's blood?
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Capt Richard I P.
MSgt Tim Parkhurst, great question and i look forward to Steven's answer of it.You might enjoy his thriller The Profession which touches on some of these topics.
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
Tim, I certainly agree with you that some of our recent adventures might better be called misadventures, and I say that going back to Vietnam as an example. But I don't think it's the fault of deliberate misuse of the military by our political leaders. It's more just blundering if you ask me. That, or the use of power by those who have an ideological agenda and are exploiting whatever crisis comes along to advance that agenda. I fault Congress as much as I fault the Executive branch because it has defaulted almost completely on its Constitutional duty to take a stand. Everybody is afraid of losing votes or losing financial backers. No one will take a stand on what to do about Syria or ISIS because they're afraid they'll commit to a position that'll be proved wrong. Who's got the guts any more. I don't see anyone.
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Do you think the tribal nature in Afghanistan will continue unchecked preventing the emergence of a Nation State with a government that is truly representative of the ethnic groups (tribes) within the country?
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1SG (Join to see)
Ma'am,
I look forward to Mr. Pressfield's answer to your question. My experience over two tours there is yes, the tribal culture will win out.
I look forward to Mr. Pressfield's answer to your question. My experience over two tours there is yes, the tribal culture will win out.
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
I do. If the British couldn't make it happen and the Russians couldn't make it happen and we couldn't make it happen, who's gonna come along and succeed? I'm not even sure it'd be a good thing if Afghanistan did become a nation-state. Why? Half the globe isn't ready for nationhood in the Western sense, maybe three-quarters if you count the nations that pretend to be nation-states but are actually kleptocracies or petro-fiefdoms or narco-petro-medieval Game of Thrones whatever. Maybe it's not so bad being a tribal state. Henry Kissinger's new book WORLD ORDER is a great one to read on this subject. He gets into the history of the nation-state and makes you realize (something I didn't know) that it's really a recent development and maybe pretty unique to Europe and the Western world and by no means the model for societies around the world. A great question!
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Thank you for joining us. Have you ever been surprised by the influence that your books have had on modern military professional development? Is it something you ever think about when you sit down to write your next book?
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with our community.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with our community.
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LCpl Steven Pressfield
Great question, Yinon. The answer is yes, it has surprised the hell out of me. Years ago my friend Dave Danelo, who was then a captain in the Marine Corps, asked me, "Steve, do you realize how many Marines are reading 'Gates of Fire' and what a big influence it is having?" I said, "Hell, no. Are they?" I have written anything except 'The Warrior Ethos' that was deliberately aimed at encouraging or influencing our guys and gals in uniform. I'm just writing what's interesting to me, stories that grab me and compel me to attack them just because I think they're fascinating or exciting. As far as influencing what my next book might be, I try to keep all considerations out of my mind except, "Do I love this story? Is this something I would want to read myself?"
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I would love to hear what Mr. Pressfield's thoughts are on the writing environment today. Would he still have gone traditional if he was just starting out as a writer, or would he consider self-publishing?
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Capt Richard I P.
Sgt Justin Sloan I'd be very interested to see LCpl Steven Pressfield's answer to that question as well. He's done a lot of writing about the changing landscape of publishing on his blog. http://www.stevenpressfield.com/series/
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Mr. Pressfield, It will be a delight for you to join our forum and share a moment of discussion on several of your masterpieces written during your tenure as a successful author.
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Do you think the public appearance of Rula Ghani at her husband's campaign rally will affect his ability to remain in control and how he is viewed by the male population in Afghanistan? Her appearance stood out as being culturally at odds with the accepted (enforced) role of women there. Is the fact that his wife is an American/Lebanese detrimental to his Presidency?
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