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The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War
Viking Adult
October 2009
On Sale: October 15, 2009
320 pages ISBN: 0670021121 EAN: 9780670021123 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
A groundbreaking reading of the Iliad that restores Homer's
vision of the tragedy of war, by the bestselling author of
The Bounty Few warriors, in life or literature, have challenged their
commanding officer and the rationale of the war they fought
as fiercely as did Homer's hero Achilles. Today, the Iliad
is celebrated as one of the greatest works in literature,
the epic of all epics; many have forgotten that the subject
of this ancient poem was war-not merely the poetical
romance of the war at Troy, but war, in all its enduring
devastation. Using the legend of the Trojan war, the Iliad addresses the
central questions defining the war experience of every age:
Is a warrior ever justified in standing up against his
commander? Must he sacrifice his life for someone else's
cause? Giving his life for his country, does a man betray
his family? How is a catastrophic war ever allowed to start-
and why, if all parties wish it over, can it not be ended? As she did with The Endurance and The Bounty, Caroline
Alexander lets us see why a familiar story has had such an
impact on us for centuries, revealing what Homer really
meant. Written with the authority of a scholar and the
vigor of a bestselling narrative historian, The War That
Killed Achilles is a superb and utterly timely presentation
of one of the timeless stories of our civilization.
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