Episode Details

Steven Pressfield, author of A Man at Arms and Gates of Fire, joins the show to talk about writing historical fiction, telling the truth about war, and why the hardest part of art is “doing the work” .

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Times 

• 01:38 Introduction

• 03:49 Why Historical Fiction?

• 08:25 Creating The “Distant Mirror”

• 12:12 Special Forces 

• 14:17 Characters 

• 19:44 A Man at Arms 

• 22:01 Post-Warrior Life  

• 23:46 The Warrior Ethos

• 27:20 Society Needs, But Doesn’t Want, Warriors

• 32:52 Citizen-Soldier 

• 34:10 Reading History 

• 37:48 Characters Are Uncovered, Not Made

• 40:19 The War Of Art

• 45:52 Telling Stories