Tim Severin's "The Ulysses Voyage" is more than a fascinating adventure/detective story. It is, above all, a fine piece of scholarship, marshalling evidence from Homer, from a modern understanding of the geology and meteorology in Ulysses's time, and from what is known about local myths to construct a convincing account of the reality behind Homer's wondrous tale. The book, which includes color photographs of the likely waypoints on Ulysses' journey, inspired me to visit some of these waypoints, myself. I've now been to the land of the Cyclops and had coffee with the local expert Tim Severin spoke with, visited the Isle of Aeolius, and snorkeled in the bay where the Laestrygonians destroyed all but one of Ulysses'last 12 boats. "The Ulysses Voyage" is among the most valued books in my collection. Others of Severin's books are not far behind.
