The Odyssey - by Homer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Odyssey is the original journey tale, a genre that has lasted three thousand years, and has had a lasting influence on on literature and art. The trials of Odysseus were first told by the great bard Homer. For ten long years the Greeks and Trojans have fought on the plains of Troy, and now Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, and the other victorious Greeks are ready to sail home. But after offending the sea god, Poseidon, Odysseus is hurled into years of wandering the seas, encountering monsters and sirens, raging storms and seductive idylls, before he is able to return to his wife, his son and his homeland.

This masterpiece keeps its appeal not only because it reflects a glorious time of heroes and wonders, but because it is a work that still speaks to the lives we live today. Forge book is proud to present The Odyssey in Dr. Eickhoff's compelling and authoritative new translation.

Review Quotes

"Why didn't something like this come sooner. Maintains the dignity of Homer's work while folding comfortably and well into today's vernacular. allows reders to read this masterpiece as comfortably as a modern novel." --The El Paso Times

"Homer's ancient song, The Odyssey, is a treasure waiting to be discovered by every generation. Eickhoff's fresh, bold, contemporary translation rival's Fitzgerald's. I highly recommend it." --Stephen Coonts

About the Author

Randy Lee Eickhoff holds several graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in Classics. He lives in El Paso, Texas where he works on novels, plays, poetry and translations in several languages. His translation of Ireland's national epic, the Ulster Cycle, is now a text used in schools in the United States and overseas. His novel And Not to Yield, based on the life of Wild Bill Hickok, was selected as the Best Novel of 2004 by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage. His nonfiction work on the Tigua Indians, Exiled, won the Southwest Book Award. He is also the author of Return to Ithaca, Then Came Christmas and The Quick and the Dead. He has been inducted into the Paso Del Norte Writers Hall of Fame, the local chapter of the Texas Institute of Arts and Letters. Eickhoff served with distinction in the early phases of the Vietnam War, and was awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star. He spends his time in El Paso, Ireland, and Italy, lecturing on Dante and The Ulster Cycle.