There is so much misery in David Grann's new adventure biography/travelogue, that it helps to be in a comfortable chair with food and a cool drink nearby.
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon is a fabulous read, and has all my favorite themes - eccentric biography, exotic travel, and forgotten history (and misery). When Percy Harrison Fawcett disappeared in the Amazon in 1925, looking for what he called "Z" (El Dorado), he was known around the world as one of the greatest explorers of his time. A contemporary of Shackleton, he was nearly insufferable as a travel companion, but legendary in his endurance and drive.
After more than seven expeditions through Brazil's jungles, Fawcett's interest in lost civilizations had become an obsession. Nearly penniless, he scraped together enough funding for a final trip with his son Jack, and one of Jack's closest friends. The three were last seen by the Kalapalos tribe as they marched further into the jungle.
Fawcett's mystique has never died, and scores of subsequent expeditions (some of which also never returned) were launched in an effort to track down the explorers. Even today, a number of Fawcett enthusiasts remain, and some rather intriguing theories have emerged to explain Fawcett's disappearance.
Grann, in speaking with surviving family members, discovered that some of Fawcett's personal diaries had never been released to the public. In his reading of these logs, Grann discovered clues that suggested Fawcett intentionally misled the press about his whereabouts. The logs also suggested a coded true location of the expedition, leading Grann to set out himself into the Amazon to follow Fawcett's footsteps.
And the lost city? Well, there are some very compelling theories on that too...
Leave a comment