The Adventurer''s Son: A Memoir

NATIONAL BESTSELLER 

Destined to become an adventure classic. Anchorage Daily News

Hailed as gripping (New York Times) and beautiful (Washington Post), The Adventurer's Son is Roman Dials extraordinary and widely acclaimed account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his sons disappearance in the jungles of Costa Rica.

In the predawn hours of July 10, 2014, the twenty-seven-year-old son of preeminent Alaskan scientist and National Geographic Explorer Roman Dial, walked alone into Corcovado National Park, an untracked rainforest along Costa Ricas remote Pacific Coast that shelters miners, poachers, and drug smugglers. He carried a light backpack and machete. Before he left, Cody Roman Dial emailed his father: I am not sure how long it will take me, but Im planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. Ill be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.

They were the last words Dial received from his son.

As soon as he realized Cody Romans return date had passed, Dial set off for Costa Rica. As he trekked through the dense jungle, interviewing locals and searching for cluesthe authorities suspected murderthe desperate father was forced to confront the deepest questions about himself and his own role in the events. Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to be at home in earths wildest places, travelling together through rugged Alaska to remote Borneo and Bhutan. Was he responsible for his sons fate? Or, as he hoped, was Cody Roman safe and using his wilderness skills on a solo adventure from which he would emerge at any moment?

Part detective story set in the most beautiful yet dangerous reaches of the planet, The Adventurers Son emerges as a far deeper tale of discoverya journey to understand the truth about those we love the most. 

The Adventurers Son includes fifty black-and-white photographs.