The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: A Man of the World: My Life at National Geographic by Gilbert M. Grosvenor

The birthday of a nation is a perfect moment to celebrate heroes and the American hero I pick to honor on this 4th of July is Gilbert Grosvenor.
While his name might be unfamiliar, the brand his family has managed for more than a century has left a large, yellow-bordered mark on the world. The National Geographic Society and their iconic magazine have illuminated every corner of the world for decades. In this "swashbuckling memoir ... filled with pirates, royalty, treasures, frostbite, shipwrecks, impenetrable jungles, hidden tombs, and ancient temples."

This could be fiction, but it isn't. Reading about one man's journey through the world and his related quest to build an entire media empire out of stories is one of the most fascinating life stories you'll ever read. If you could invite any person living or deceased to dinner, Grosvenor would be a great choice. His life is one that will inspire you to try just a little harder to be a man (or woman) of the world yourself.