Herzog feels he can best describe his life as a series of turning points.

After writing some 18 stories for The New York Times Magazine he was offered a job at the magazine to be groomed for the prestigious job of editor. But the young Herzog's spirit for adventure overtook the desk job, and he declined the offer. Soon thereafter, he became the first person to visit and write about Angola when the Angolan rebels were under fire.

After earning a masters degree in English literature at Columbia University, Herzog declined the chance at a doctorate, declaring an "aversion to both libraries and authority".

After mastering the art of non-fiction, he finally decided on a career devoted to fiction, wherein he created a new genre called "near in sci-fi," a fictional form that combines theoretical scientific phenomena with realism. He is termed the master of disaster