War That Killed Achilles

The dramatic events of the Trojan War are legendbut Homers epic poem, Iliad, is devoted entirely to a few mundane weeks at the end of a debilitating, waning ten-year campaign. The storys focus is not on drama but on a bitter truth: both armies want nothing more than to stop fighting and go home. Achillesthe electrifying hero who is Homers brilliant creationquarrels with his commander, Agamemnon, but eventually returns to the field to avenge a comrades death. Few warriors, in life or literature, have challenged their commanding officer and the rationale of the war they fought as fiercely as did Homers Achilles. Homers Iliad addresses the central questions defining the war experience of every age. Is a warrior ever justified in challenging his commander? Must he sacrifice his life for someone elses cause? Giving his life for his country, does a man betray his family? Can death ever be compensated by glory? How is a catastrophic war ever allowed to startand why, if all parties wish it over, can it not be ended?As she did in The Endurance and The Bounty, Caroline Alexander has taken apart a story we think we know and put it back together in a way that reveals what Homer really meant us to glean from his masterpiece. 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.