&ldquo;To find a hero one tells a story.&rdquo; Heroic narratives bring meaning to the uncertainties of life, of which war is the most terrible. Yet concepts of heroism have changed since the Great War. The aim is to study war, heroism, and narrative in the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, J. R. R. Tolkien, and John le Carré. Chapter One spells out the changing nature of the hero, the development of a heroism of the ordinary, and the relationship of the hero to heroic narratives. Chapter Two outlines the scope and methodology through the metaphor of mapping, the impact of the Great War, the past &ldquo;from which we have all emigrated,&rdquo; the Cold War and beyond, the memories of war, and the ironies and ambiguities of modernity and modernism. Chapter Three explores the work of Hemingway, using the roles of writers and soldiers, and his continuing experience of war. The focus is on <italic> In Our Time</italic>, <italic>The Sun Also Rises</italic>, <italic>A Farewell to Arms</italic>, <italic>For Whom the Bell Tolls</italic>, <italic>Across the River and into the Trees</italic>, and <italic>The Old Man and the Sea </italic>. His short stories and war correspondence are briefly examined. Chapter Four looks at Tolkien, using the roles of hobbits and wizards, and his experience at the Battle of the Somme. The following works are examined: &ldquo;Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics,&rdquo; <italic>The Hobbit</italic>, &ldquo;On Fairy-Stories,&rdquo; <italic>The Fellowship of the Ring</italic>, <italic> The Two Towers</italic>, <italic>The Return of the King</italic>, and <italic> The Silmarillion</italic> and other works. Chapter Five examines le Carré, using the roles of spies and moles, and placing him among the betrayals of the Cold War. <italic>The Spy Who Came In From the Cold</italic>, <italic>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</italic>, <italic> The Honorable Schoolboy</italic>, <italic>Smiley's People</italic>, <italic> The Little Drummer Girl</italic>, <italic>A Perfect Spy</italic>, and <italic> Absolute Friends</italic> are examined. Chapter Six shows how Hemingway, Tolkien, and le Carré, in their varied responses to war and heroism, developed different and complex narratives, becoming storytellers to the modern world.