# 13 Hours-Fiction or Non? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760 "2016-02-22T00:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/1 "2016-02-22T00:47:16Z")
1. Why does the New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Best Sellers list show \*13 Hours \*by Mitchell Zuckoff \*et alii \* as Non-Fiction? It’s down to #4 this week from #2 last week. Last week its paperback version was also on the Non-fiction list. 1. Why does the book’s data page say it is a work of fiction? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/2 "2016-02-22T01:01:02Z")
When you say “the book’s data page,” what are you talking about? The book opens with “A Note To The Reader” that says, “Although written as a narrative, this is a work of nonfiction.” ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/3 "2016-03-04T01:49:23Z")
Sorry for the delay in responding. I was relying on my memory. Now I’ve acquired a copy of the 12/TWELVE /Hachette Book Group (mass market paperback) November 2015 edition of _13 HOURS-The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi_. Its copyright (data) page (unnumbered iv) has as its FIRST sentence, “This book i a work of fiction.” On page xiv, in A Note to the Reader, says, “Although written as a narrative, this is a work of nonfiction.” So, again I ask, why? ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/4 "2016-03-04T18:55:45Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > Sorry for the delay in responding. I was relying on my memory. Now I’ve acquired a copy of the 12/TWELVE /Hachette Book Group (mass market paperback) November 2015 edition of _13 HOURS-The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi_. Its copyright (data) page (unnumbered iv) has as its FIRST sentence, “This book i a work of fiction.” On page xiv, in A Note to the Reader, says, “Although written as a narrative, this is a work of nonfiction.” > > So, again I ask, why? I suspect it works this way. “Although written as a narrative, this is a work of nonfiction.” Written as narrative == work of fiction Nonfiction because the story is (according to the author) true. If it were written in a different style it would be straight non-fiction. Slee This is a pure ass guess ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/5 "2016-03-04T19:29:18Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > Sorry for the delay in responding. I was relying on my memory. Now I’ve acquired a copy of the 12/TWELVE /Hachette Book Group (mass market paperback) November 2015 edition of _13 HOURS-The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi_. Its copyright (data) page (unnumbered iv) has as its FIRST sentence, “This book i a work of fiction.” On page xiv, in A Note to the Reader, says, “Although written as a narrative, this is a work of nonfiction.” > > So, again I ask, why? Weird. I tried to see if I could find the copyright page online somewhere, but couldn’t: the preview version available on Amazon only shows the (earlier) hardback edition of the book, and it does not contain that sentence claiming that the book is a work of fiction. A sentence like that is a pretty [standard disclaimer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_persons_fictitious_disclaimer) in books that are, in fact, sold as fiction (i.e. novels), but I don’t know why it would be in a work of nonfiction. I’d be suspicious that it was added as a [C.Y.A.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_your_ass) against charges that the book was full of made-up stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/6 "2016-03-04T20:02:51Z")
> **[Creative nonfiction](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_nonfiction)** > > Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as academic or technical writing or journalism, which are also rooted in accurate fact though not written to entertain on prose style. Many writers view creative nonfiction as overlapping with the essay. > For a text to be c... Creative nonfiction is nonfiction, but there will be fictional elements introduced for purposes of entertainment which necessitate a disclaimer. The genre is relatively new and creative nonfictional works can be hard to categorize which can lead to conflicting descriptors as you see with this book. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/7 "2016-03-04T20:15:31Z")
“Creative nonfiction” under whatever name has been around since at least 1965, with the publication of Tom Wolfe’s “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby,” a collection of short pieces which predate, of course, the book. No doubt others can point to even earlier examples. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/8 "2016-03-04T21:36:20Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > “Creative nonfiction” under whatever name has been around since at least 1965, with the publication of Tom Wolfe’s “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby,” a collection of short pieces which predate, of course, the book. No doubt others can point to even earlier examples. I would think every work of non-fiction from pre-enlightenment Europe/Middle East fit into the same category. The works of Julius Ceasar or the Bible, for example, purport to be true, and mostly detail the facts at the authors believed them to be. However they also contain many elements that were just plain made up for the purposes of entertainment or to illustrate a point. Rather than looking for earlier works of creative non-fiction, it would be more profitable to look for the first example of pure non-fiction. Until quite recently every work of non-fiction introduced fictional elements, and the reader expected that to be the case. Nonetheless the Bible or the works of Caesar are generally listed as non-fiction works. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-hours-fiction-or-non/746760/9 "2016-03-04T21:43:47Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator