Further Reading
Daniel Mendelsohn's reading list for The Odyssey
Following the introduction to his new translation of The Odyssey, Daniel Mendelsohn provides a list titled “Further Reading,” a syllabus of sorts for anyone who might wish to go sailing through the historical and literary commentary on Homer’s epic. With Mendelsohn’s permission, we are sharing his reading list as a companion to his appearance on The World in Time. We liked his list so much that we have decided to invite all guests on The World in Time to share such reading lists should they wish to, and we will collect them here, under the heading “Further Reading,” a nod to Mendelsohn’s title for his list but also to the Further Remarks section of Lapham’s Quarterly. In his introduction to his reading list, Mendelsohn writes, “The following list of articles, books, and essay collections on Homer and the Odyssey is designed to be of use to general readers interested in learning more about the epic and its world.” All future installments of Further Reading will likewise aim “to be of use to general readers interested in learning more.”
Auerbach, Erich. "Odysseus' Scar" in Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed. George Steiner and Robert Fagles, 19-37. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.
Brann, Eva. Homeric Moments: Clues to Delight in Reading the "Odyssey" and "Iliad." Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, 2002.
Buitron, Diana, and Beth Cohen, eds. The "Odyssey" and Ancient Art: An Epic in Word and Image. Annandale-on-Hudson, N7: Edith C. Blum Art Institute, 1992.
Carpenter, Rhys. Folktale, Fiction, and Saga in the Homeric Epics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958.
Clay, Jenny Strauss. The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in the "Odyssey." Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
Cline, Eric H. The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Finley, M. I. The World of Odysseus. 1954. Reprint, New York: New York Review of Books, 2002.
Foley, Helene. "‘Reverse Simile' and Sex Roles in the Odyssey.” Arethusa II, nos. 1/2 (1978): 7–26.
Fowler, Robert, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Hall, Edich. The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's "Odyssey." London: I.B. Tauris, 2008.
Martin, Richard. "Telemachus and the Last Hero Song." Colby Quarterly 29, no. 3 (1993): 222–40.
Morris, Jan, and Barry Powell, eds. A New Companion to Homer. Leiden: Brill, 1997.
Muraghan, Sheila. Disguise and Recognition in the "Odyssey." Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.
Pache, Corinne Ondine, ed. The Cambridge Guide to Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Porter, James I. Homer: The Very Idea. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021.
Saïd, Suzanne. Homer and the "Odyssey." Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Schein, Seth L. Reading the "Odyssey": Selected Interpretative Essays. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.
Segal, Charles. Singers, Heroes, and Gods in the "Odyssey." Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994.
Shay, Jonathan. Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming. New York: Scribner, 2003.
Stanford, W. B. The Ulysses Theme: A Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968.
Steiner, George, and Robert Fagles, eds. Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.
Taylor, Charles H., Jr., ed. Essays on the "Odyssey": Selected Modern Criticism. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1963.
Vivante, Paolo. Homer. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985.
Whitman, Cedric. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1958.
Zeilin, Froma I. "Figuring Fidelity in Homer's Odyssey." In Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature, 19–52. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.