6 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American author and former National Geographic editor — author of The River of Doubt, Destiny of the Republic, and Hero of the Empire — who writes narrative history about extraordinary people in extreme circumstances.
Pierce Brown's 2014 science fiction novel set in a caste-divided society on colonized Mars — following Darrow, a lowborn Gold miner who infiltrates the ruling class to destroy the system from within.
American journalist and author — author of Shadow Divers, Crashing Through, and Pirate Hunters — who writes obsessive-quest narrative nonfiction.
Robert Kurson's 2004 account of two New Jersey divers who discovered a WWII German U-boat 60 miles off the American coast in 1991 — their obsessive quest to identify it — one of the most gripping narrative nonfiction books.
Homer's ancient Greek epic poem following Odysseus's 10-year journey home from Troy — encountering Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, and the underworld — which established the quest narrative and the archetype of the clever, enduring hero as templates for Western literature.
Candice Millard's 2005 account of Theodore Roosevelt's near-fatal Amazon expedition in 1913 — mapping an uncharted tributary (the River of Doubt, later renamed Rio Roosevelt) — a gripping account of one of the most dangerous presidential adventures.