and the iliad which is the greatest book ever written except for "catch-22," is this story. it's the story of a meaningless war fought for no reason, and the survivor is the wily odysseus as he is always referred. and he gets away. but what do i think it's about? >> did joseph heller have that in his mind? >> i vice president the faintest. >> oh, okay. tell us are what you think it's about. >> i think it's on the same book as his next book, "something happened," which is set in an office and a family. and that subject is, i think, what dominated joe's psychic life which is anxiety. see, he was scared, he was nervous, and something was going to happen. and in the one book the metaphor is war, and in the other book the metaphor is normal man's working life and home life. but the tone, what they're about, is exactly the same. he knows something terrible is going to happen. something is going to happen. and "catch-22" is about making sure or trying to make sure it doesn't happen. and something happened is about knowing it's going to happen, and then it happens. but that is his s

and going to school and so forth, and he brought home spanish translations of the odyssey and the iliad and he put them on the table and he said to me, "mijo, study them in the original spanish." >> hinojosa: oh, my god. >> i'm telling you, that's a true chauvinist. even greek was originally spanish. >> hinojosa: so your first book, into the wire, actually you had written that book and you got rejected for ten years? >> ten years, yeah. >> hinojosa: when i read that, i just was like, "wow, you got rejected by publishers for ten years and you kept it as a manuscript, trying to sell it." >> yeah. >> hinojosa: and it becomes a best-seller; it gets a great, great review in the new york times. it's about the border. you write some other books along the way. you write an amazing memoire that also is nominated for an american book award? >> got the american book award. >> hinojosa: got the american book award. but a lot of people, again, know you as the writer who brought to forth this story of the yuma 14? >> yes, right. >> hinojosa: just so people can remember, that was the really horrific s

guess you can say i am some of what a philosopher, i like reading, aristotle, socrates, homer, the iliadknow all that. >> he also does his own writing. >> i wrote these pieces. i don't pray with bibles, i pray with false idols. i have no enemies just deceased rivals. because i am creating history with homicidal travels, swimming with crying crocodiles deep in devil's vile. cursed at birth with a lifetime of trial. crime after crime with a pistol. i have been flirting with death and [ bleep ] it with a smile. that's suicide king. i have an extensive history of being suicidal and, i overcame that, you know like, i tried cutting my wrists. i mean, i tried hanging myself. i tried shooting myself. tried poisoning myself. and for me it was a lifetime ago. so that being said, i just put it on paper. expressed myself that way. it's more than therapy. it's my life. >> coming up -- >> vegas, a bad habit. vegas. i would make $80,000 bets on a black jack hand. retarded. i love the life. >> one inmate lives the high life on other people's money. >> i steal from corporations like honeywell or motorola

plus on "art beat," jeff talks to author stephen mitchell about his new translation of homer's "iliadt and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> lehrer: and on this veterans day, once again to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here, in silence, are seven more. >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, we'll talk with musical icon, and life-long political and social activist harry belafonte. i'm jeffrey brown. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice holiday weekend. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> intelligent computing technology is making its way into everything from cars to retail signs to hospitals, creating new enriching experiences. through intel's philosophy of investing for the future, we're helping to bring these new capabilities to market. w

frederick iliad. vice-president, of vietnam veterans of america. richard denouier.nited states. garry frye. samuel hune. blinded veterans association. jeffrey gibson. national commander, army and navy union. h. jane overstreet. noncommissioned officers association. david boyles. national vice commander, the american legion. bill hutton. military order of the purple heart. james scarborough. fleet reserve association. james tuey. marine corps lead. edward t. brogan. military chaplains association. bill lawson. paralyzed veterans of america. donald l. marks. legion of valor of the usa. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. jeanette early. cold storage -- goldstar wives of america. janet broussard. blue star mustard -- blue star mothers of america. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. airforce association. carl berritt. maybe veterans of america. jeffrey ledeaux. air force sgt association. mike lynch. gerald d. francisco. president of the humanitarian services, american red cross. david fletcher. na

has a matter of fact i remember having this discussion the iliad was his favorite book and he read it by age 10 and i had forgotten. he was a teacher. but to talk about the the 25 but to go from one end to the other that we were cut and bruised and battered simply from trying to get around nothing soft and no around the edges. and they were shooting at them. you had to be dead goddamn hero to fly and the at the very top of your life. of these guys are athletes and he rose. i barely made it one end to the other five times. at the same time we have to hang algebra or all and helicopters and were comfortable and were always injured when we did the flying scenes. it was a monstrous weapon and a monstrous same to operate. so they were like baseball players. >> one of the essays of the book say a lot of people think the book is about humor but this person thought it was about violence and a feeling of soldiers and four being buried alive. i thought you captured some of that in the movie actually. >> we spent a lot of time thinking about it. for the actual hell of it. it was the big stone fa

frederick iliad. richard denouier. garry frye. samuel hune. jeffrey gibson. h. jane overstreet.hutton. james scarborough. james tuey. edward t. brogan. bill lawson. donald l. marks. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. genjeanette early. janet broussard. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. carl berritt. jeffrey ledeaux. mike lynch. gerald d. francisco. david fletcher. gloy s. montgomery -- glory s. montgomery. gerad yamada. j. david bailey. darlene baker. charles able. alker williams. tim moon. latest installment, please drum in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your plots -- ladies and gentlemen please join me in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your applause. it is my pleasure to introduce our host. the military order of the world wars was formed as a suggestion of john j. pershing. is comprised of members who work or are commissioned officers of the army, navy, marine corps, public health service, and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. they represented b

frederick iliad. vice-president, of vietnam veterans of america. richard denouier.. garry frye. samuel hune. blinded veterans association. jeffrey gibson. national commander, army and navy union. h. jane overstreet. noncommissioned officers association. david boyles. national vice commander, the american legion. bill hutton. military order of the purple heart. james scarborough. fleet reserve association. james tuey. marine corps lead. edward t. brogan. military chaplains association. bill lawson. paralyzed veterans of america. donald l. marks. legion of valor of the usa. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. jeanette early. goldstar wives of america. janet broussard. blue star mothers of america. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. airforce association. carl berritt. maybe veterans of america. jeffrey ledeaux. air force sgt association. mike lynch. ceo, help hospitalize veterans. gerald d. francisco. president of the humanitarian services, american red cross. david fletcher. national associatio