Caroline Alexander

Chris- "Hello everyone. I'm Chris Lonen, and welcome to our 9 o'clock news broadcast. Today I will be talking to General Jack Hatcher who recently returned from Iraq due to a gunshot wound in his left shoulder. We will be talking to him about his experience and what he has to say about war itself. Please welcome our guest everyone."

Jack- "Hello, thank you so much. I'm pleased to be here. Of course returning from war due to an injury is never what I hoped for, but I'm recovering fine, and I'm happy get to see my family again."

Chris- "Oh yes. I'm sure that your family was glad to see you."

Jack- "They were. It's actually hard though to adjust to from being in a war and defending yourself all the time to returning to normal society. I'll admit it's been a little bit of a challenge. I read an article though called, "Back from War but Not Really Home," by Caroline Alexander that I thought gave an interesting point of view on how soldiers feel when they return. I'd say it somewhat identified what I felt."

Chris- "Really? What was it about?"

Jack- "Her work compares soldiers returning from war as going through many of the same problems that Odysseus went through when he returned from war. Many of her works are actually about the Odyssey or have some sort of Mythological content. She wrote a book called The War That Killed Achilles, The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War that is also about war and some of her views on war."

Chris- "Like what?"

Jack- "Well she has some interesting views on war. She believes that war is, in its very nature something that is tragic and should be something that is viewed as devastating. She says that sometimes through all these stories about heroes in war, we get this idea that war itself is an opportunity for glory when it really is something that is very destructive."

Chris- "Wow. That seems like a pretty bold thing to say. Do you agree with her opinion?"

Jack- "I mean, no. To some extent, of course if war could be avoided that would be the ideal situation, but I think it's unreasonable to say that there's no glory in fighting for your country and defending your people when it's what is necessary to keep people safe."

Chris- "Yeah, I can definitely see where you'd think that. Do you find that a lot of people agree with you?"

Jack- "People agree with parts of both points. Even I agree that war can have awful affects on soldiers, communities, and society. I think that's what she wanted to convey to her readers. I do wonder what experiences she's had in her life that have lead up to her writing about war and having strong opinions about war."

Chris- "That's a good question. Can we get someone to see if they can find the answer? Jane? Can you find us some more information on Caroline Alexander?"

Jane- "Yes, of course Chris. Caroline Alexander was born in Florida to British parents. She studied philosophy and theology at Oxford and has a doctorate in classics from the University of Columbia. She has written three books: The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War (2009), The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, (2004) and The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (1998). http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/16/war-that-killed-achilles-review is a good place to go to see a review of her books. From 1982-1985, she taught classics at Chancellor College which is a part of the University of Malawi. She has written for The New Yorker, Granta, Conde Nast Traveler, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. She currently lives on a farm in New Hampshire."

Chris- "Okay, but could you find any information about why she's so interested in writing about war?"

Jane- "No actually. We couldn't find anything."

Chris- "Interesting. I guess we'll just have to let our minds wonder. What do you think could have made Caroline Alexander so interested in writing about war?"