New Book: The Explorer’s Gene
I received an email yesterday from Outside columnist Alex Hutchinson, a reader of ExplorersWeb. Hutchinson has a new book, The Explorer’s Gene, set to be released on March 25th by HarperCollins. I haven't read it yet, but if you're familiar with any of the Canadian writer's columns, you'll know he's skilled at making the science of endurance and the outdoors engaging.
This new book is Hutchinson’s attempt, in his own words, to “understand why we’re drawn to explore the unknown (in a broad sense: not just crossing uncharted wilderness, but also ordering in restaurants, choosing careers, and so on), and how that urge fits into the modern world.” As a scientist myself, it's the kind of book I would like to have written. The blurb suggests it draws from the fields of behavioral psychology and neuroscience.
With my day job becoming more demanding and an upcoming sledding trip to Finland in February/March, I’m not sure I’ll have the time to review it. However, I wanted to flag it here for other writers and editors, as it does look like a worthwhile read.
New York Times-bestselling author of Endure Alex Hutchinson returns with a fresh, provocative investigation into how exploration, uncertainty, and risk shape our behavior and help us find meaning.
Off the beaten path, following unmarked trails, we are wired to explore. More than just a need to get outside, the search for the unknown is a primal urge that has shaped the history of our species and continues to mold our behavior in ways we are only beginning to understand. In fact, the latest neuroscience suggests that exploration in any form—whether it’s trying a new restaurant, changing careers, or deciding to run a marathon—is an essential ingredient of human life. Exploration, it turns out, isn’t merely a hobby—it’s our story.
In this much-anticipated follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Endure, Alex Hutchinson refutes the myth that, in our fully mapped digital world, the age of exploration is dead. Instead, the itch to discover new things persists in all of us, expressed not just on the slopes of Everest but in the ways we work, play, and live. From paddling the lost rivers of the northern Canadian wilderness to the ocean-spanning voyages of the Polynesians to the search for next-generation quantum computers, The Explorer’s Gene combines riveting stories of exploration with cutting-edge insights from behavioral psychology and neuroscience, making a powerful case that our lives are better—more productive, more meaningful, and more fun—when we break our habits and chart a new path.
