What is Narrative Nonfiction?

What is narrative nonfiction? How real is gonzo journalism? And how the heck did we come up with a word like "nonfiction" to describe books that are supposed to be true to reality? 

A few years ago I heard a talk by the author and war correspondent Sebastian Junger that gave me a clue about why every book is first, and foremost, a complete invention of whomever was holding a pen. He said that no matter how talented you might be, "your words will never match the majesty of reality."

Today I posted a video that follows from this insight  where I describe how closely different genres of literature come to reflecting the real world. 

I also made a fancy chart that maps out most of the major genres from total make believe all the way over to as objectively real as possible that I call the  "Literature Continuum."

Below that I've made links to all of the books that I mention in the video in case you are looking for your next great read. 

Books by Genre

Tribe by Sebastian Junger 
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger 

HISTORY
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond 

MEMOIR & BIOGRAPHY
Becoming by Michelle Obama

NARRATIVE NONFICTION
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 
The Vortex by Scott Carney & Jason Miklian 
What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney 

GONZO:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson 
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail of '72 by Hunter S Thompson

HISTORICAL FICTION
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara 
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 

NOVELS
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 
Black Boy by Richard Wright 

MAGICAL REALISM
Dracula by Bram Stoker 

SCIENCE FICTION
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovksy 
Dune by Frank Herbert 

FANTASY
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus 
The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin 

MYTH
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Ancient Sumeria 
The Marvel Encyclopedia by Stan Lee 


Lastly, thanks as always to video editor Ron Perron!