|
The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War |  | Author: Caroline Alexander
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $1.46
as of 3/20/2010 06:13 CDT details
You Save: $25.49 (95%)
New (65) Used (38) Collectible (1) from $1.46
Seller: ebooksweb*
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 56260
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1St Edition
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0670021121
Dewey Decimal Number: 883.01
EAN: 9780670021123
ASIN: 0670021121
Publication Date: October 15, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780670021123 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
A new look at the first classic March 15, 2010
James Poitras (Canterbury, NH United States)
Caroline Alexander has written a wonderful book with a fresh perspective on Homer's Iliad and the issues surrounding military command and the moral obligations of the soldiers actually fighting the war. The only disappointing aspect of this book is that it ends as the Iliad did; before the end of the Trojan war. Fortunately her scholarship does extend beyond the strict epic and does cover the other relevant tales that address teh characters lives before and after the Iliad.
Alexander's Main Theory Dies Too February 20, 2010
J. Moran (Illinois, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Author Alexander's main points in this book seem to be that war is cruel, vicious and senseless, that most of those fighting in one have no personal reason to be fighting, little idea what the war is about and would rather not be risking their lives, that they are often following orders that seem to make no sense, that war leaders may be inept, that many lives (mostly young ones) will be brutally snuffed out and that there are few real winners in war. While certainly worthy of frequent repetition, these are commonplace observations.
In addition, she believes that the "Iliad" is not about the epic glory of war at all but is instead a deeply ironic antiwar work that has been misunderstood for nearly thirty centuries. This is her central idea and is a far from commonplace observation, but it requires evidence and careful argument to establish. Alexander fails to provide these.
Indeed Alexander does not attempt to make a systematic argument in support of her insight. She relies instead on scattered textual passages from the poem and other classical sources to support her point.
Thus, for example, she looks repeatedly to a few passages in which Achilles himself states that he has no personal reason to fight the Trojans and would rather be waging peace at home than war at Troy. Two such passages are referenced more than once: One is Achilles' statement to the effect that he would advise other Greek warriors to sail home and live in peace. The other is a statement from the "Odyssey" in which Achilles' ghost in the underworld tells Odysseus that he (Achilles) would rather be alive as someone's serf than be king of the underworld. Alexander also makes much of what she sees as Achilles' supposed challenge to Agamemnon's status as leader of the Greeks.
To these Alexander adds numerous references to highly realistic, pull-no-punches descriptions of pitiable death in battle, many involving characters who are sympathetic and appealing (Hektor not least among them). She also quotes occasional materials from ancient commentators and poets to the effect that both sides were ruined by the Trojan War.
Such scattered and selective references do not make the case, at least for me, especially since Alexander ignores passages that do not support her. In the first place, the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon is never over policy or even generalship. It is about an insult to Achilles' honor. Moreover, not only does Achilles make no effort whatever to seize power, he does not even try to persuade anyone else to support him in his withdrawal of himself and his Myrmidons from battle. Moreover, he gets his mother to obtain Zeus' promise to let the Trojans press the Greeks nearly to destruction so that his return to battle will be desperately needed and will therefore not only repair his honor but enhance it. Achilles is concerned deeply with glory and honor and has no serious intention of abandoning the war. Nothing could stop him from sailing home, but he never attempts to do it.
Nor do the awful battlefield deaths refute this picture. The Iliad is fully aware of the horrors of war and does not prettify death and destruction in the slightest. Yet only Thersites tries to provoke mutiny and no one makes any serious effort to force the leaders to make peace. Thersites is the character who clearly argues that "glory" is an empty term and that death in this war is senseless and without value. Not only does he attract no support, he seems to be universally despised in the Greek army and is beaten senseless for his pains.
Alexander notes that no one dies well or happily in the Iliad. No one is rewarded for their valor and there is no heaven to receive them. But the Greeks had no heaven to receive anyone. The Greek "afterlife" consisted of a fragment of a human being with no memory and very limited awareness of any kind. No ordinary mortals received any rewards in the afterlife. I suspect that most ancient Greeks (a few philosophers aside) would find the very notion of dying well, let alone happily, inconceivable.
It seems to me that the Iliad, while fully sensible of the horrors of war, is equally at ease with the idea that glory, even undying glory, may be found there.
So while Alexander's favored theory must to my mind be regarded as, at best, not proven, I think the book is worth reading as an excellent introduction to the power and richness of the Iliad. Alexander is knowledgeable not only about the Iliad itself but about the works of lesser poets who wrote epic cycles of the Trojan War. She knows the works of Hesiod, of commentators and of other early Greek writers as well. Alexander writes clearly and engagingly and imparts her knowledge without condescending to less informed readers. Overall this is an informative and entertaining book that offers something to anyone even remotely interested in the Homeric epics.
 Brilliant February 7, 2010
Frederick S. Mandler (New York, NY USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you have even just a passing familiarity with the Iliad, this book is a brilliant exposition of the story, the timeless themes it explores, and the various oral traditions that informed Homer's written version. If you have never read the Iliad, then I can't recommend this book to you. While it can be thought of as "Cliff's Notes" on steroids, without some sense of the original text to anchor you, it really becomes just a dry description of a story that you have never read.
 Uncertain if it is popular history or a textbook December 15, 2009
James S. Evidon
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
It is a wonderfully rich accounting of the Iliad. But it can't decide if it is a popular history or a textbook. The early part of the book is definitely suitable as a history textbook. While it is necessary to set up the mythological and historic references for the Trojan War, it goes into greater detail than is necessary for the average reader and could have been better organized. The later sections move right along with the narrative, and she makes an excellent case for the proposition that war is a pointless exercise contrived by grumpy and self possessed old men to satisfy their egos that are fought by young men who for the most part bear no personal animosity toward the ones they are trying to kill. All in all, it is an excellent read that is diminished by less than ideal organization of the material.
A Pause in Encountering a Different World December 14, 2009
Michael H. Shenkman (Albuquerque, NM United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
After Heidegger, no one can approach a Homeric epic with the conceit that our contemporary sensibilities will grasp the words on the page as they were once launched out onto the world stage.
Such ruminations as Alexander offers on the stage of Homer and his audience are essential guides for our own entry into this other world. The time with such thoughts takes us out of our time and out of reading habits entrained to instant transparency and utility of the word, to a time where the word evoked and launched worlds, just as Helen launched ships.
That she made this book something for us all, rather than for benighted scholars is an act of great generosity. I for one am grateful.
If you want to take a moment away and depart to lands and peoples unknown to us, but also to people whose ways we nevertheless both esteem and fear, this book is a worthy companion.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
![[your site name here]](http://www.miniaturewargaming.com/graphics/header2.jpg)
