Everybody dies. So did these 300 Greeks. But the world will never forget their choice of death.It is incorrect that the battle at Thermopylae changed the course of history. That was the battle at Marathon, some years before, when the Greek cities were unprepared and only the city of Athens was able to scrape a small army which, beautifully generaled by Miltiadis, defeated the first Persian campaign and, thus, averted the infusion of Asia into Europe.Thermopylae was only a moral victory. In every sense as well in the sense that it demoralized the Persian troops. Pressfield does a fair job in making his reader get a taste of the Spartan way of life. The loyalty to the city-state, the devotion to the ideals of freedom and the personal sacrifises offered to safeguard it.Not to be taken as a history lesson - yet, could be a great excuse to get interested in the period that shaped the western civilization.Highly Recommended!