Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon. New York: Vintage Departures, 2010.
Reason read: August is the driest month in the Amazon…or so they say.
I could have read this in January as part of national mystery month because there is one burning question to Lost City: what happened to the Percy Fawcett expedition? Fawcett, his son and his son’s friend all vanished without a trace. Were they murdered by jungle natives? Did they die of starvation or disease? All scenarios are possible and even likely. In 1925 all three went into the Amazon jungle in search of a legendary (imaginary?) lost civilization and were never see or heard from again. Lost City traces not only Fawcett’s repeat attempts to conquer the Amazon, but the author’s endeavors to follow his footsteps.
As an aside, I don’t know if I could visit the Amazon, tamed or not. The descriptions of ailments, insects and ever-devouring jungle was enough to keep my travel bug at bay. Grann’s description of the jungle swallowing up an entire village was awe inspiring. It’s easy to see how and why Fawcett was seemingly unsuccessful in conquering the jungle.
Author fact: at the time of Lost City’s publication David Grann write for “The New Yorker.”
Book trivia: The Lost City of Z includes some great photographs. I only wish there were more.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter simply called “Amazonia” (p 9).
~*LunaSea*~ 