The Lost City of Z: A Review

            I love to read.  I’ll read just about any non-fiction book that is put in front of me as long I’m interested in the topic (and I’m interested in most topics).  My mother often tells me that I have strange tastes in books because I’ll happily jump from The Goblet of Fire (fiction, Harry Potter) to The Secret Life of Lobsters (non-fiction, an in depth study of a lobster’s habitat and mating techniques).  My library has “In the Heart of The Sea” (the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick), several books about The Bounty (I have a thing for old sea stories!), and “The Boy who came back from Heaven” (a father’s narrative about his young son’s near death experience).  Seriously – I’ll read anything.  When I happened upon “The Lost City of Z” by David Grann, I assumed it was right up my alley: non-fiction, exploration, science-bent.  What’s not to love?  Apparently, a lot.  While I admit that some fascinating details exist in this story, the overall arc of the book did not work for me.

The Basics:

Percy Harrison Fawcett disappeared on his (obviously) final expedition into the Amazon rainforest.  In his later years, he had become obsessed with finding the fabled El Dorado, or as he referred to it, Z.  Fawcett was an early protégé of Britian’s Royal Geographical Society and was sent to map parts of Brazil and Argentina at age 39.  He then continued to return to the Amazon on several expeditions and was one of few experts on this region in the world.  Over the years, he developed a reputation for ceaseless penetration of the unknown forest, friendly relations with native inhabitants, robust health in harsh conditions, and a love for exploration.  

Unfortunately, this devotion pushed his family to the brink of destitution.  He truly believed that El Dorado existed and if he could just find it, the subsequent windfall would support his wife and children.  Gambling on this discovery, Fawcett had lost much of his savings and some of his reputation.  It took him years to raise the necessary money for his final trek into the unknown with his eldest son Jack and his close friend Raleigh.  His wife Nina staunchly supported these efforts and served as Fawcett’s voice and spokesperson while he was away.

But Fawcett never came back.  What happened to his party of three in South America?  The moral of this book is that we’ll never know.

The Good:

This time period is notable for its ballooning of scientific knowledge.  I’ve often wanted to research the different scientific societies of this age and the public’s reaction to them.  Fawcett was contemporaries with Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Edward Shackleton; he came in the wake of Charles Darwin.  This was a time when regular people would attend scientific lectures to learn what they knew.  Some were so inspired by these talks that they wrote novels involving the theories (such as, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with “TheLost World,” who later inspired Michael Crichton).  David Grann did an excellent job describing the times and the inertia that placed Fawcett and his competitor Dr. Alexander Rice deep in the Amazon rainforest. 

The Bad:

Many people went searching for Fawcett over the years.  Spurred by the success of H.M. Stanley finding David Livingstone, new explorers plunged into the rainforest in search of Percy Fawcett.  Sadly, many of those adventurers never returned either.  These tales are all cliff-hangers and excellent hooks to begin a story.  Unfortunately, Grann poorly executes and confuses the reader (ie - me).  Fawcett goes missing in Chapter 1.  James Lynch is kidnapped by natives while trying to find Fawcett in Chapter 2.  Chapter 3 features the author himself and he suspensefully tells us that he, too, is lost in the Amazon looking for Fawcett.  What the what?  I can’t keep track of these people and the time periods.  It was at this point that I nearly gave up on this crazy book, but I did persevere.  

Sadly, the pay off for Lynch’s tale comes a few chapters later in the form of Grann saying “And then I met James Lynch.”  If you’re going to set up the mystery, follow it through logically.  We never did learn why Grann was “lost in the Amazon,” but a full 250 pages will pass before we are reunited with Fawcett’s story and his obsession for Z.  Two hundred and fifty pages.  The book is called “The Lost City of Z” and it’s only the final few chapters that discuss it and even then, it’s tangential to Fawcett’s disappearance.  I wanted to know so much more about Z.  Maybe there isn’t much to know, but then name the book “Fawcett’s Obsession” and don’t set me up to be angry when I never hear much about the namesake of the book. 

The Ugly:

A key character in this book is the Amazon.  Grann does provide some background about the river itself and explains in vivid detail the bugs, plants, and animal-life inside the rainforest.  There are times when you can truly feel the hunger, bug bites or desperation of those who are trekking under the canopy.  One part about maggots moving inside a man’s elbow joint haunted and disgusted me for several days.    

However, in contrast to the flora and fauna explanations, very little substantial information is offered up about the Indians living there.  Grann mentions often how westerners were convinced that civilizations could not survive there, yet the many appearances by Indian tribes suggested otherwise.  Clearly some things are known about these people or we wouldn’t have Grann chatting it up with them (and being offered tales about Fawcett’s bones at the end, a truly eye-rolling event), but the author never shares.  He hides half of the main character’s development from us and I was left highly disappointed.  

                In all, the book was informative and interesting, but a bit difficult to slog through since I was mostly interested in Z.  If you love adventure stories, I’d recommend this book, but please go in with your eyes open.  This isn’t a story about El Dorado or the Amazon, it’s simply a narrative about a man and the times in which he lived.  

                Other books about adventures that I, in comparison, highly recommend:

Into Thin Air by Jon Kraukauer (anything by this man, actually)

The trio of books: Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, and Pitcarin Island.  These might be my absolute favorites ever.  They are not non-fiction, but give depth to an incredible true story.  They will inspire you to research Captain William Bligh and First Mate Fletcher Christian.  Do read them.