Moby Dick (1851) by Herman Melville is a timeless adventure novel about a sea captain's relentless pursuit of his adversary, the formidable white whale, Moby Dick.

Heart of Darkness (1902) by Joseph Conrad is a novella that follows Marlow, a man who ventures into the Belgian Congo to locate Mr. Kurtz. Kurtz, a Westerner, has fallen under the jungle's malevolent influence, constructing a fortress and instilling fear among the natives with his violent, messianic behavior.

"The Bear" (1935) by William Faulkner is a short story that narrates Ian McCaslin's initiation into adulthood through the annual hunt for Old Ben, a cunning black bear.

The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, published in 1978, is a National Book Award-winning narrative. It chronicles the author's expedition with zoologist George Schaller to the Tibetan Plateau in the Himalayas in quest of the elusive snow leopard. This journey also brings him to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism at Crystal Mountain.