Chasing tales of history, mystery, humanity

In just a few days, best-selling author and journalist David Grann will submit his next book.

It's a true tale of shipwreck, murder and a breakdown of social order, akin to "Lord of the Flies" — a story of the fragility of civilization and an example of how winners, or survivors, write the history books.

"We all tell our stories in order to live, but in their case, they literally have to tell their stories to live because if they don’t they get hanged," Grann said in a Thursday phone interview with The Press.

"I better make my deadline," he said with a chuckle.

Grann, of New York City, will deliver the 17th annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, May 6, in The Coeur d'Alene Resort. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is presented by the Idaho Humanities Council.

Grann is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker. His robust resume includes his first book, "The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon," which was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller that was adapted into a critically acclaimed film directed by James Gray and starring Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland.

Grann actually followed in the footsteps of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who disappeared chasing his obsession with a lost city.

"You might need a psychiatrist to understand how the hell I ended up in the middle of the jungle," Grann said.

The latest Grann book to hit the big screen is "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI." Grann spent five years researching and writing the book, which is about oil, greed and the killing of members of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma in the 1920s. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, will be released this year.

"One of the things that drove me there was to better understand this history that had been excised from the mentality of those living outside of the community," he said. "I was addressing my own ignorance to fill in some of those spaces. I think sometimes, with a story like that, you feel a certain kind of moral purpose. You are trying to kind of illuminate something you think is hopefully important."

It's not the fame and fortune that drives Grann in his pursuit of truth.

“I always look at life in many ways as a mystery," he said. "I often think truth is stranger than fiction."

Regarding the fact that films are made based on his work, "my kids think I’m actually cool for about two days," he said. "But more importantly, I’m not naive. I know a book can reach so many people, but a movie can reach others.

"History is the dynamic force. It's not fixed — we’re always learning," he said. "To me, that is the wonder. That’s how I discover stories, that serendipitous process where one thing leads to another. That's my hope with all this, the beginning and spreading out of history and deeper discussion."

Grann has been to Idaho once before. He said it's a great honor to speak at the humanities lecture in Coeur d'Alene.

"I'm also a big believer of the role of the humanities in society. They're a little under siege sometimes," he said.

"We are kind of endlessly contradictory and capable of wonderful acts of beauty and charity and acts of darkness, and we run this spectrum," he said. "A lot of the stories I pursue show and probe the riddle of human nature and the riddle of who we are."

Visit idahohumanities.org/events for tickets to the lecture.