The War That Killed Achilles

November 1, 2009
Alexander, a professional writer who has been published in "Granta, The New Yorker", and "National Geographic", holds a Ph.D. in classics from Columbia University. Her new book explores her deep fascination with Homer's "Iliad". Essentially, she offers an extended discussion of the plot, elaborating and contextualizing it by reference to extant fragments from other epics and other ancient texts and archaeological and historical evidence. She also relates the resonances of "The Iliad" in the modern world, from Muhammad Ali's refusal to serve in the Vietnam War to the account of an American war widow responding to the death of her husband in Iraq. VERDICT Alexander's book is vigorous and deeply learned yet unpedantic. Highly recommended to general readers interested in a full appreciation of the power and the enduring relevance of "The Iliad".T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah, GA

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2009
The epic that launched a thousand term papers, The Iliad receives a variegated critique from Alexander, the popular author who remarks here that Homer led her to become a classicist. Rereading her inspiration, Alexander incorporates her interpretations of The Iliads main characters into her summary of the plot, which culminates in the cathartic contest between Achilles and Hektor. Alexanders purpose in doing so is to crystallize The Iliads main ideawars devastationwhich she indicates gets lost in the epics dazzling literary elements, such as epithets (fleet-footed Achilles), interventions of the gods, battle scenes, and so forth. To restore centrality to the main idea, Alexander distinguishes passages that emphasize the disgust of major characters such as Achilles and Hektor with the ostensible objective of the Trojan War, the possession of Helenyet they fight on. Alexanders perceptiveness about attitudes and motives primes us for the death of Hektor, a scene whose power of desolation she releases in a verbatim reprinting from the Richmond Lattimore translation. That curriculum classic will surely be sought by readers of Alexanders informed and discerning commentary.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)