The Profession
by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield's near-future thriller about mercenary armies, a charismatic general and a republic's slide toward strongman rule. Less read than his historical novels; interesting as a meditation on loyalty and civic duty.
Read it if…
you have read Pressfield's other fiction and want his political thriller.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want his nonfiction on creativity; see The War of Art.
Try instead: 36 Righteous Men →
Three things you will actually use
- Loyalty to persons can betray principles.
- Republics erode by consent.
- Soldiers need something above the commander.
Do this first
Note where the narrator's loyalty to a man overrides loyalty to principle.
Our verdict
Pressfield's political thriller.
See the book →
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