The Iliad was meant to be recited aloud- closer a to campfire tale than a school poem. Probably worth it, especially for people whose interest in literature comes to a large extent through history, but slogs nevertheless.ĭolan sees the slog quality as an injustice to the poem. It was my favorite story, though I was disappointed to find that the grown-up versions were generally slogs. Moreover, it’d also be hard to overstate how important the Iliad - or, anyway, the children’s Iliad I had - was to me as a child. I’m glad the interests of the two - literature and war - coincided for this particular volume. So I get why the man himself might prefer Gary Brecher, but I’ll always have a soft spot for Dolan. The list of writers I picked up because of his recommendations is nearly coextensive with the list of my favorite writers. Dolan’s writings were Lit 101 (and a few extra classes alongside) for me. There’s a simple reason for this- I went to hippie school, sans requirements, and loaded my plate with history and sociology classes. I began reading the War Nerd, written under the identity of “Gary Brecher,” after a friend linked one of his articles to me early on in my time in college- early enough that I was one of the ding dongs speculating, “COULD Brecher be Dolan?” While I pay my homage to the Gary Brecher persona, I’d have to say the Dolan half was probably more important to my education. Homer/John Dolan, “The War Nerd Iliad” (2017) – It would be hard to overstate the impact John Dolan has had on my education. Name Asterisk on Review- Ma, “Harassment A…

Review – Fountain, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”.

The war nerd iliad