Before he was a famous novelist, Garcia Marquez was a journalist. It's no surprise that an article he wrote for 'El Espectador' about a Colombian naval officer who was washed overboard and spent 10 days adrift in the Caribbean Sea was eventually made into this book. It's the quintessential "man vs. nature" narrative, incredibly harrowing. The reason that sailor was even on the water in the first place caused a major controversy when revealed.