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Will Byrnes's Reviews > The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
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Be careful when you pick this book up. You won’t want to put it down. In 1925, Percy Harrison Fawcett, armed with information only he had unearthed, accompanied by his son, his son’s best friend and a small company of bearers and support personnel, headed off into the Amazonian wilderness in search of a large, ancient, fabled city, the City of Z. Fawcett, his son, Jack, and Jack’s friend, Raleigh, were never seen again. There were many attempts by later explorers of varying levels of expertise to find Fawcett, or at least to learn definitively of his fate. Professional writer David Grann joins that horde, armed with little or no experience as an outdoorsman and having his athletic prowess honed by years as a subway-riding resident of Brooklyn. Not, perhaps, the likeliest starting point. He sets out on a strenuous enterprise in an attempt to explain this 80 year old mystery.
David Grann
While Grann’s book is non-fiction, it reads like an H. Rider Haggard action adventure novel. You will feel palpable excitement as Grann digs up first one then another then another clue as to where Fawcett might have wound up. He follows research directions ignored or unsuspected by prior investigators, to great advantage. I won’t spoil the ending by telling what he does or does not find. That is almost beside the point.
A still from the film
It is the journey that counts here, and part of that journey is the window Grann offers on a part of the history of exploration, the sort of people who were drawn to it, their reasons, their personalities, the effect of their quests (or obsessions, depending) on their careers, families and on the body of human knowledge. We learn also of competing theories about the potential for the Amazon to support a large, urban population. Grann shows, as well, the challenges, the horrors of trying to traverse one of the most unwelcoming areas on earth. This is a very entertaining, very informative and very engaging journey.
The Film was released in the USA - 4/14/17 - sadly, it is a sure cure for insomnia
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
New York Times: January 14, 2012 - Once Hidden by Forest, Carvings in Land Attest to Amazon’s Lost World
David Grann
While Grann’s book is non-fiction, it reads like an H. Rider Haggard action adventure novel. You will feel palpable excitement as Grann digs up first one then another then another clue as to where Fawcett might have wound up. He follows research directions ignored or unsuspected by prior investigators, to great advantage. I won’t spoil the ending by telling what he does or does not find. That is almost beside the point.
A still from the film
It is the journey that counts here, and part of that journey is the window Grann offers on a part of the history of exploration, the sort of people who were drawn to it, their reasons, their personalities, the effect of their quests (or obsessions, depending) on their careers, families and on the body of human knowledge. We learn also of competing theories about the potential for the Amazon to support a large, urban population. Grann shows, as well, the challenges, the horrors of trying to traverse one of the most unwelcoming areas on earth. This is a very entertaining, very informative and very engaging journey.
The Film was released in the USA - 4/14/17 - sadly, it is a sure cure for insomnia
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
New York Times: January 14, 2012 - Once Hidden by Forest, Carvings in Land Attest to Amazon’s Lost World
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
June 11, 2009
– Shelved
June 11, 2009
– Shelved as:
biography
June 11, 2009
– Shelved as:
nonfiction
June 11, 2009
–
Finished Reading
August 17, 2010
– Shelved as:
adventuring
November 2, 2012
– Shelved as:
brain-candy
Comments Showing 1-48 of 48 (48 new)
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Lilo
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added it
May 17, 2014 12:11AM
Could it be that this book was also a documentary on TV, or do I mix this up?
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This sounds fascinating. Thanks Will.
Lilo wrote: "Could it be that this book was also a documentary on TV, or do I mix this up?"IMDB indicates that this is in development, which means only that rights have been bought. No film has been made yet.
Wonderful review,Will.Hollywood is talking about making a movie from this book.In 2015.
It has the potential to be amazing
Will wrote: "Lilo wrote: "Could it be that this book was also a documentary on TV, or do I mix this up?"IMDB indicates that this is in development, which means only that rights have been bought. No film has b..."
Thanks, Will. Then, what I had seen was something different.
After I read this, I decided I will never, ever venture into the Amazon. Ever. That thing should have giant police tape around it. I absolutely believe what's in there is nature's way of saying "stay out."
Douglas wrote: "After I read this, I decided I will never, ever venture into the Amazon. Ever. That thing should have giant police tape around it. I absolutely believe what's in there is nature's way of saying "st..."I am glad that there are people around who are safety-minded. I sometimes think I am the only one.
I can get all the dangerous adventure I would ever want from books. Not that I would ask anyone to risk his/her life so that he/she can write such a book. But since there are people who do so anyway, I might as well read their books.
I just bought the book. One should get some armchair adventure every once in a while. :-)I just remember, this documentary I saw on TV was also about searching for a lost city in the Amazonas area. It was probably about another attempt to find this city.
I've wondered about this book and you've convinced me I should add it.
Will, it's a good review and I appreciated the additional links. I read the book awhile ago and I really enjoyed it.
*added*
I agree completely and also gave it 5 stars without hesitation. As a matter of fact, I was struck by the eccentric intensity of not only this story but the entire Victorian era, which was anything but buttoned-down. The explosion in information, mapping, exploration and science were such that people were running all over the globe from the polar netherlands to the heart of equatorial jungles. This book peaked my interest in all things Victorian which I still read with glee. Enjoy!!!
Yep, fascinating stuff and a fascinating era
Great review. I simply have to find this book. You mentioning Rider Haggard brought back some old memories.
Thanks, Supratim. This is a marvelous book.
I just reread your inspiring review and noticed that I had accidentally failed to LIKE it when I first read it. So I LIKEd it now.
Good morning, Will. I've got a question - and as it has been some years since you read this, you may not have the answer. I have a 13-year-old son who is an avid reader, and while this work is obviously not written for an eighth grade audience, the kid took the ACT last year and scored a 26 on the reading section. It can be difficult keeping him in appropriate books because his comprehension and enjoyment are at one level but his maturity is at another. Obviously, we let him choose his own books, but most of the recommendations he gets from the library are for YA. His comprehension level is way beyond that genre, but obviously I'm not going to hand him my copy of The Vegetarian or Eileen.Would this work for him? I have given him City of Thieves (Benioff) and River of Doubt (Millard) because he adores history. He has portraits of JRR Tolkien and George Washington in his room, and Teddy Roosevelt is his hero.
Thoughts? Thank you for even considering it.
Wil, this was a great book. Wish I could find more like this.
The Pfaeffle Journal wrote: "Wil, this was a great book. Wish I could find more like this."How about Lost in Shangri-La?
Reading it now and find it an engaging read.
This just got a Dutch translation. Seems it is a stellar book. Picking this up for sure. Thanks for the review Will!
Thank you, Kevin. It's a fun read.
I loved this book when I read it several years ago. Great review.
I recently saw the movie, and found it to be lacklustre and a bit dull. It surely missed huge opportunities. Perhaps I might read the book someday.
Sorry to hear that. It happens far too often that the film of a great book fails to capture the grandeur of the material on which it was based. The biggest disappointment for me in that regard was the tepid film made of Serena, one of my all-time favorite novels. Maybe in 20 years someone will have another go at it and get it right. The Lost City of Z is definitely a worthwhile read, despite the disappointing film.
Could not put this one down. There was no way a movie could do this one justice.
A wonderful read, for sure,
Willie, you will be very happy with me. I just finished this and I liked it a lot. And then I came back to re-read your review that makes an excellent case for it. :) I love you <3
Thanks, V. Luv you back.
I love the insanity and bravery of the Victorian era explorers who marched around the world through mountains and deserts and snow and rainforests swarming with bugs and wild animals and isolated natives. Many died but they left invaluable records full of scientific information. I love that these explorers were breaking out of the buttoned up Victorian stereotype. The book is mesmerizing and the movie sucked.
The book is mesmerizing and the movie sucked. That about sums it up.
Well what if u put down what will happen😥😧
That would be telling
Have just started, “The Lost City of The Monkey God. Non- fiction.
Sounds like fun. You might have to provide a rating in bananas instead of stars?
You make this sound extremely tempting - and that's quite something, as this is way outside my comfort zone. I'd particularly like to learn what motivates these grand explorers. Does the book look at that as a phenomenon?
I quite enjoyed this when I read it in 2009. My recollection of motivation was that it was a sense of adventure and overwhelming curiosity on the part of both the author and the explorer whose history he was tracking. Sadly, my notes from that reading have vanished in the dark jungle of lost data, and my memory is an impenetrable wilderness of a similar sort, so I am not 100% certain.
Thanks Will. What you say makes sense, ie explorers want to explore and find out.I remember books from years ago as just a flavour, plus usually an idea that some initiative was good or bad. It's great we have GR to pad out our (well my) tenuous rememberings. Really it was rude of me to ask about a book read so long ago (especially given the number of books you read.)
Not rude at all. Thankfully, not all my files have vanished. It is because my memory is so porous that I began keeping files of my notes, and other materials relating to books I read, some years back. Sadly, many have succumbed to hardware failures and other causes of death. I remember, as you do, the flavor of books much more than the details. As for massive reading, I read a bit more than a book a week, which does not seem massive to me at all. In fact, it seems paltry compared to the number I want to read.
Gosh, it's good that you keep notes - but even without them, your reviews are wonderfully descriptive, so there's a lot there, plus of course you always feature good links too. All in all they're a good weighty reminder of what you have read.One book = 52 books a year. I'm a snail so that seems hugely impressive to me, particularly given the sort of review you do.
(I don't expect a response to this wittering!)
👍🏼the banana rating idea for nonfiction and fiction adventure/ travel genre.
Great review and glad to see it posted today - presumably again. I felt much the same about The Killers of the Flower Moon, as far as pace and mystery go, so I look forward to this one!
