Steven Pressfield

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Steven Pressfield

Goodreads Author


Born
in Trinidad
Website

Member Since
March 2008

URL


I was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother.

I graduated from Duke University in 1965.

In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again."

Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined.

GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops
...more

Liz Gilbert’s Deal With Herself

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic, and the brand-new All the Way to the River. She’s also a deep and honorable thinker on the subject of the artist and the artist’s soul. 

When Elizabeth Gilbert was starting out, she made a deal with her writing. 

I will never ask you to support me. I will support you.

Let me set that before us again.

I will never ask you to support me

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Published on October 15, 2025 01:25
Average rating: 4.06 · 248,720 ratings · 18,865 reviews · 88 distinct worksSimilar authors
The War of Art

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3.97 avg rating — 116,120 ratings — published 2002 — 72 editions
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Gates of Fire

4.40 avg rating — 42,851 ratings — published 1998 — 79 editions
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Do the Work

3.97 avg rating — 20,786 ratings — published 2011 — 36 editions
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Turning Pro

4.15 avg rating — 14,117 ratings — published 2012 — 10 editions
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The Virtues of War

4.03 avg rating — 6,523 ratings — published 2004 — 51 editions
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The Warrior Ethos

4.07 avg rating — 4,967 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions
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Tides of War: A Novel of Al...

3.92 avg rating — 5,154 ratings — published 2000 — 40 editions
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The Afghan Campaign

4.01 avg rating — 5,012 ratings — published 2006 — 34 editions
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The Legend of Bagger Vance:...

3.91 avg rating — 4,926 ratings — published 1995 — 8 editions
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Killing Rommel

3.99 avg rating — 4,362 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions
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More books by Steven Pressfield…

Related News

There's a crisis for writers these days. No more book reviews. Newspapers have cut back drastically. How can a writer get the word out that his...
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Steven’s Recent Updates

Steven Pressfield wrote a new blog post

Liz Gilbert’s Deal With Herself

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic, and the brand-new All the Way to the River. She’s also a deep and honorable thinker on th Read more of this blog post »
More of Steven's books…
Quotes by Steven Pressfield  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

“Our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Polls

What book would you like to read for our April 2025 Group Read? The theme is Games.

 
  26 votes 28.6%

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Science Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult
 
  13 votes 14.3%

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Dystopia, Science Fiction, Young Adult
 
  13 votes 14.3%

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance
 
  10 votes 11.0%

 
  7 votes 7.7%

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult
 
  7 votes 7.7%

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Science Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult
 
  5 votes 5.5%

 
  5 votes 5.5%

The Striker by Ana Huang
Romance, Sports
 
  3 votes 3.3%

 
  2 votes 2.2%

91 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Romance Readers R...: colleen's Reading List 37 481 Jul 23, 2009 09:54AM  
The History Book ...: HISTORICAL FICTION POLLS 6 357 Jan 21, 2010 12:04AM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. 5.3 (S.P.R.I.N.G) 29 206 Feb 25, 2010 10:42AM  
Romance Readers R...: Armchair Travelers Challenge 36 261 Jun 10, 2010 12:20PM  
Romance Readers R...: 2009 A-Z Character Challenge 193 506 Jun 11, 2010 09:23AM  
College Students! : Lori's Challenge 3 46 Jul 02, 2010 07:22AM  
Historical Fictio...: August/September Group Read(s): Mistress of Rome & (Runner-Up) The True Story of Hansel & Gretel 102 152 Aug 09, 2010 12:03PM  
5796 Q&A with Steven Pressfield — 63 members — last activity Jul 17, 2011 06:20AM
Steven Pressfield will be available July 7 through July 18, 2008 to answer questions and talk about his new book, Killing Rommel.
14094 Free Book Giveaway — 2847 members — last activity 18 hours, 2 min ago
Looking for a place to post your book contest/giveaway or a place to get a chance to grab a free copy of a book you'd like? NO ASKING FOR BOOK REVIEWS ...more
16778 Free Books, .99, Giveaways & Reviews - Check Them Out! — 9933 members — last activity 11 hours, 37 min ago
This group is for authors, publishers and bloggers to post giveaways and freebies for readers.
Comments (showing 1-8)    post a comment »
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Bradley I hope you are having a good day! =)

http://www.cardshark.com/content/view...



maricar thank you for accepting me as friend ^_^ keep up the great writing. have a nice day!


message 6: by A.J.

A.J. Hello Mr. Pressfield,

I don't get many opportunities to interact with writers I like, so I suppose I'll take this one. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed Gates of Fire. Not only does it rank among my favorite novels, it also happened to turn me on to the whole historical fiction genre. So many thanks on both counts.

And on behalf of a few of my old theater job buddies, one of which was in Iraq for awhile, they sure enjoy your work as well. We're all pulling for you and spreading the word.

Thanks for listening. I look forward to reading your Alexander and Rommel novels sometime in the near future.

Sincerely,

-A.J.


Steven Thanks, Susan. I'm delighted that "War" struck a chord!


message 4: by Susan

Susan I loved The War of Art. Many thanks for writing it.


message 3: by JHHK

JHHK JHHK Oh, Resistance still kicks my butt each day. I just stand up, take the hit, then finish the day’s work. For a professional endures.


Steven Thanks, JH. You're way ahead of me. Resistance is kicking my butt regularly!


message 1: by JHHK

JHHK JHHK I read “The War of Art,” turned pro, started writing five hours per day, three hundred and sixty-five days per year, and have only been defeated by resistance three days in the last three years. I recommend your book to every writer I know.


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