We just sent Micah to school in his Crusader costume on this fine Halloween.

(Don’t say I’m not raising my kid right!)

It got me thinking about history, stories, and great books I’ve read.

As I sit in my home office this morning surrounded by books, I noticed my Homer collection. Sadly, I haven’t read the Iliad and the Odyssey in years.

But when I did, it was terrific. Let me tell you about it, in this light Rude edition.

It's Time to Go Homer.

I'm not classically educated by any means.

Although Hasbrouck Heights Junior/Senior High School was a repository of excellent teachers—and some not-so-excellent ones—the English department was impeccable.

But I wasn't into reading in high school.

Honestly, I was pretty popular, and I had too many other things to do.

Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry…

My high school sweetheart was a reader, though, and I remember her recommending that I read Erich Segal's immensely popular book, Love Story.

You may remember the movie version with Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.

I became so engrossed that I brought the book into the bathroom with me. And fortunately for me, that's when Jenny died. Thank heavens no one saw me while I was bawling my eyes out on the toilet.

My love of reading wasn't born at that moment.

As I had written before in the Rude, my college sweetheart was a literature major, and I really started picking up the classics from her.

Later in my life, when I started hanging around with all my crazy libertarian friends, I couldn't believe how well-read they all were.

They still astound me with the books that they've read. It’s brilliant.

I have a library stocked full of books, some of which I've read, most of which I haven't.

The Anti-Library

I take comfort in Nassim Taleb's theory of the anti-library, where most learned men have gigantic libraries and haven't read all the books. The books are there for research.

I also like audio recordings because when you are traveling in a car or just walking around, where you'd ordinarily be listening to music, you can get a delightful story in.

My libertarian friends are well-versed in the history of Western civilization and its traditions. There’s a good reason for that. There has been a sustained attack on our culture for at least 150 years.

So, they've all read the Iliad and the Odyssey.

I recall reading part of the Odyssey in eighth grade, but we never completed the entire book. And we certainly didn't go through the Iliad because, well, that was the “war” book. 

With that said, I recommend getting the audiobooks of the Iliad and the Odyssey, narrated by Dan Stevens, of Downton Abbey fame.

Escape From Hong Kong

When Pam and I lived in Hong Kong and Micah was first born, I was still commuting to my offices at the International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong's tallest building.

Although we had a beautiful view across the harbor to the magnificent Hong Kong skyline, it didn't bring me much solace.

I was miserable at work, and I wanted to leave. But Pam became pregnant with Micah, and we were trapped.

I thought I'd spend some time learning something. But of course, when you have a newborn, that's hard.

I thought, “You know what, I'm not going to read the Iliad and the Odyssey. Since I can't concentrate at home, I'll listen to the audiobooks on my commute instead.

To make sure I didn’t miss anything, I also purchased the Great Courses on the books.

Elizabeth Vandiver taught them, and they are fantastic.

I listened to the books and then went through the course to understand what was happening. 

Not only did I immensely enjoy the stories, but I also learned two valuable ideas while reading them.

The Anti-War Iliad

But first, think about this: why did we skip the Iliad?

That's because the Iliad is often considered the “war” book, and most English teachers prefer not to teach war-related books.

It's ridiculous because the entire point of the Iliad is that war is wasteful and counterproductive.

It doesn't glorify the war at all!

The exchange between Glaucus and Diomedes, when Diomedes rips off Glaucus, is a beautiful encapsulation of the book’s theme.

Homer wants us to think, “They went to war over this woman, this silly affront, and Troy is going to be destroyed because of it?”

Here’s what happened:

In response to Diomedes' challenge to him, Glaucus said that as a grandson of Bellerophon, he would fight anybody. Upon learning of Glaucus' ancestry, Diomedes planted his spear in the ground and told of how his grandfather Oeneus was a close friend of Bellerophon, and declared that the two of them despite being on opposing sides should continue the friendship. As a sign of friendship, Diomedes took off his bronze armor worth nine oxen and gave it to Glaucus. The latter then had his wits taken by Zeus and gave Diomedes his golden armor, said to be worth 100 oxen.

It's an epic metaphor.

Fathers Matter.

The second thing I loved about these books was the emphasis on the importance of fathers. 

Nowadays, fathers are treated as unimportant and portrayed as buffoons on sitcoms.

One of the reasons Odysseus has so much trouble in Ithaca is he took an entire generation of Ithacan men with him to war.

Those men all died at war, leaving their now fatherless sons to become Penelope's suitors. Of course, they have been poorly behaved! They had no dads!

When Odysseus returns, he’s enraged by their behavior and slaughters them all in his own house.

Odysseus, the King, deprived his own country of two generations of good men, and had it not been for Athena's intervention at the end of the Odyssey, the mob would've murdered him as punishment.

Wrap Up

I can't recommend you go out and get the Iliad and the Odyssey fast enough. 

Listen to it on your treks. I remember listening to it on the Hong Kong MTR and being so engrossed that I was shadowboxing.

The Hongkongers were looking at me as if I were insane.

I apologized to everybody, but I was so into the book! You'll be, too. It’ll be an enjoyable self-education opportunity for you if you haven’t experienced them yet.

Have a great weekend.

P.S.  The Iliad ends at Hector’s death, not with the Trojan Horse! The Greeks kill Hector’s son to ensure the line is dead. Who ordered it? Was it Odysseus? Or was it bloodthirsty soldiers? Helen of Troy shows up in the Odyssey (in Sparta, alongside her husband, Menelaus). How did that happen? Read and find out. It’ll change your perception of her.