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person2001–present

Laura Hillenbrand

Disciplines:
writing
sports/sports history
narrative nonfiction/narrative non-fiction
wwii/wwii history

Summary

American narrative non-fiction author whose Seabiscuit and Unbroken are two of the most commercially successful works of narrative non-fiction ever published — written while she herself suffers from debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome — making her both a storyteller of extraordinary resilience and a practitioner of it.

Core Contribution

Demonstrated that meticulously researched narrative non-fiction can reach the same commercial heights as popular fiction — Unbroken selling 10M+ copies — and set the standard for character-driven historical narrative that makes the reader feel they are present in the story.

Notable Works & Achievements

Seabiscuit

Unbroken

Historical Influences

John Steinbeck Sebastian Junger

Intellectual Lineage

American Narrative Non-Fiction Sports History Writing

Contemporaries & Peers

Sebastian Junger Erik Larson David Grann

Minds Influenced

Narrative non-fiction as genreWWII popular history MW resilience content

Intellectual Posterity

Unbroken Seabiscuit

Discussing

Laura Hillenbrand

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