Fearless is part of a popular subgenre of military biographies and memoirs that surged in the years after the September 11, 2001, attacks. These books provide firsthand or closely reported accounts of the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, often focusing on elite units like the Navy SEALs. Works like Chris Kyle’s American Sniper and Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Survivor established a commercially successful formula, reaching a wide audience eager for stories of modern heroism. Fearless deliberately draws on this genre, described in its author’s note as “the account of an American hero” (xiii). The narrative emphasizes themes common to the genre, including intense brotherhood among SEALs, the ultimate sacrifice for one’s country, and Adam Brown’s personal journey from a person with a substance addiction to a top-tier operator. As a result, these narratives are often characterized by a focus on individual courage and resilience in the face of extreme adversity.

As the rise of this genre was largely predicated on a surge of pro-nationalist and pro-military sentiment in the US following 9/11, many post-9/11 military memoirs arguably employ this heroic framing in ways that simplify the complex political realities of the conflicts.