This literary pilgrimage through Oxford, Jackson, and Natchez reveals the homes, bookstores, and landscapes that shaped generations of American authors.

Odysseus faced the cyclops, his men turned into pigs, and he sailed between a six-headed monster and a whirlpool. Each of these, it turns out, have potential real-life explanations.

For more than a decade, a team of intrepid researchers have been exploring the river systems of southern Africa, one paddle stroke at a time. Here’s how the work led to the discovery of a lifetime.