What do you think?
Rate this book
Fatal Second Helen: A Modern Veteran’s Iliad
178 pages, Paperback
Published September 19, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 13, 2025
FIVE STAR READ! Part retelling of Homer's The Iliad and part memoir from Iraqi veteran author Josh Cannon-this book is highly recommendable! Cannon details The Iliad in a way that is accessible to any reader - those familiar with the original iconic story or not. The retelling is infused with Cannon's infectious love of the story which translates into the text. Interspersed between the retelling is Cannon's own account of his time serving two tours in Iraq as an Arabic linguist for the US Marines. The personal accounts were able to facilitate effortlessly between humourous and vulnerable and prove to be the heart of the book. I recommend this as a must-read for anyone and am beyond impressed by the concept and delivery of this book.
March 23, 2026
This book was a nice read. The tone is intelligent and research-replete, but conversational and easy to read. At many points, with Cannon's weaving of personal stories and Iliadic summary, it feels shockingly conversational. I wonder if it was written with a likeness to oral tradition itself in mind.
It was an interesting read for a few reasons; I have a deep-rooted distain for war and related combat—part of the reason I don't love the Iliad as much as many others. I was curious to see how someone who served would A) react to the Iliad and B) How I would react to the analyses.
Cannon's commentary is interesting and intelligent. He includes his plethora of not only educational doctoral but archaeological experience. Joining the Marines so young, he provides a really interesting view of changing perspectives. He is a very thoughtful person to comment on the military and impartially look at it's flaws and the culture that it breeds, that the Iliad and similar things foster. The care for life comes through which I was happy to see.
Before reading the book I had a major gap in my classical literature CV: I hadn't read the Iliad. Odyssey? yes, multiple times (still my preferred Homer) Aeneid? Yes. Metamorphoses? Blessedly so! Thebaid? Shockingly yes.
In preparation for this read I earlier finished Wilson's translation of the Iliad, helpfully the same one Dr. Cannon references here.
While I have not had a class with Dr. Cannon just yet, I did have the pleasure of going to his talk about this very book and got a signed copy which has been awaiting me dutifully shelf-bound for a few months and at last I can lay it back to rest, now with a few pencil wounds.
It was an interesting read for a few reasons; I have a deep-rooted distain for war and related combat—part of the reason I don't love the Iliad as much as many others. I was curious to see how someone who served would A) react to the Iliad and B) How I would react to the analyses.
Cannon's commentary is interesting and intelligent. He includes his plethora of not only educational doctoral but archaeological experience. Joining the Marines so young, he provides a really interesting view of changing perspectives. He is a very thoughtful person to comment on the military and impartially look at it's flaws and the culture that it breeds, that the Iliad and similar things foster. The care for life comes through which I was happy to see.
Before reading the book I had a major gap in my classical literature CV: I hadn't read the Iliad. Odyssey? yes, multiple times (still my preferred Homer) Aeneid? Yes. Metamorphoses? Blessedly so! Thebaid? Shockingly yes.
In preparation for this read I earlier finished Wilson's translation of the Iliad, helpfully the same one Dr. Cannon references here.
While I have not had a class with Dr. Cannon just yet, I did have the pleasure of going to his talk about this very book and got a signed copy which has been awaiting me dutifully shelf-bound for a few months and at last I can lay it back to rest, now with a few pencil wounds.
Read
January 28, 2026MWSA Review
Mention The Iliad to people today, and the first thing that might come to mind to many is the 2004 movie Troy, while a few might say it was that boring book from high school. To Fatal Second Helen author and Marine veteran Josh Cannon, it was a way to square away many aspects of his service in Iraq during wartime by comparing and contrasting his experiences to the oldest war story and the oldest book in the history of Western Civilization.
Cannon, who served as an enlisted Arabic Cryptologic Linguist and deployed to Iraq twice (first with the invasion in 2003, and again in 2004), is eminently qualified to write this book. After his time with the Marines, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and received his PhD, ultimately becoming the Director of Research, and an adjunct faculty member for the Classics Department and the Anthropology Department. He has also worked on numerous archaeological digs, including the actual location thought to be the site of Troy.
Despite the heady subject and academic credentials of the author, it is quite an enjoyable and very insightful read. The author deftly highlights how, at the level of the individual warrior, most of the physical, emotional, and psychological elements of war and its aftermath, can be found in The Iliad, including possibly the first documented “blue falcon” in the history of military service.
This fine book will be of interest to veterans, students of military history and ancient times, and anyone who is seeking to understand the effects of war on those who have served.
Review by Terry Lloyd (January 2026)
Mention The Iliad to people today, and the first thing that might come to mind to many is the 2004 movie Troy, while a few might say it was that boring book from high school. To Fatal Second Helen author and Marine veteran Josh Cannon, it was a way to square away many aspects of his service in Iraq during wartime by comparing and contrasting his experiences to the oldest war story and the oldest book in the history of Western Civilization.
Cannon, who served as an enlisted Arabic Cryptologic Linguist and deployed to Iraq twice (first with the invasion in 2003, and again in 2004), is eminently qualified to write this book. After his time with the Marines, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and received his PhD, ultimately becoming the Director of Research, and an adjunct faculty member for the Classics Department and the Anthropology Department. He has also worked on numerous archaeological digs, including the actual location thought to be the site of Troy.
Despite the heady subject and academic credentials of the author, it is quite an enjoyable and very insightful read. The author deftly highlights how, at the level of the individual warrior, most of the physical, emotional, and psychological elements of war and its aftermath, can be found in The Iliad, including possibly the first documented “blue falcon” in the history of military service.
This fine book will be of interest to veterans, students of military history and ancient times, and anyone who is seeking to understand the effects of war on those who have served.
Review by Terry Lloyd (January 2026)
December 22, 2025
This would be a good book for students. I appreciated the author’s interpretation of The Iliad and comparison to his own experience in the Marine Corps during the Iraq War.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews