[Fly] The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann - 5 Stars

[Heather Reads Books]

The Lost City of Z is a fascinating, well-researched non-fiction book about the Victorian era explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett and his fateful expedition to discover the city of El Dorado (which he called Z) in the Brazilian rainforest. In 1925, Fawcett, a life-long explorer who had mapped much of the Amazon, disappeared with his eldest son, Jack, and Jack's best friend. They were never seen again.

Author David Grann does a fantastic job with this subject matter. The bulk of his research was done in 2005, so some of the information is a little dated. However, he thoroughly documents not just what exploration was like at the turn of the 20th century and puts it in a much-needed context of British colonialism, but also all the trappings of racism that came along with the territory. He never lionizes Fawcett, as it seems many people have since his disappearance, but details dutifully the life of someone who seemed like an intriguing character regardless all of his obvious flaws. I learned a lot about the conditions Brazil and Bolivia circa 1900, as well as how both brave and reckless most amateur "gentlemen explorers" were at the time. They trudged into the Amazon with little more than machetes and hubris, and the jungle all too often cut them down to size in the form of disease, deadly wildlife, and indigenous people hostile to the ongoing slaughter and enslavement of their people.

I had never heard of Fawcett before this book, but apparently his disappearance stayed prominent in the public imagination many years after his death. If you think this book will solve the mystery of what happened to him, you will unfortunately be disappointed. However, David Grann offers some answers over what might have happened to Z, consulting with modern day archaeologists studying the area. I think in 2021 it's common knowledge that indigenous people had once had vast advanced civilizations across the Americas until contact with the Europeans wiped them out via disease (in addition to conquest), but at the time this book was first published, that might have been new information. Regardless, it made me rethink the old myths of lost cities such as El Dorado and the Seven Cities of Gold as something more than fictions invented by greedy conquistadores. This book made me interested in seeking out updated information about archaeological findings in these areas as well.

We may never know what happened to Fawcett, but in some ways his archaeological visions were way ahead of his time. In others, it seems he never recovered from the trauma of serving in World War I, becoming more and more seduced by occultism and assigning "Z" undue spiritual significance. While Grann never states this outright, I think it's clear his final expedition was rather foolhardy, since he was past his prime at age 58 and his two companions had no experience between them. It's also sad that he took his son along, who was only 21 at the time – it's clear their remaining family members never fully recovered from the loss. Although we can't know for sure, it's not difficult to imagine some accident or wild animal attack befell them, and the unforgiving environment of the Amazon erased any evidence of their fate. Such tragedies seemed quite common back then, without the aid of modern technology or medicine.

Definitely recommend.

[Booknblues]

I loved this book when I read it.

Great review.

[Heather Reads Books]

Booknblues wrote: "I loved this book when I read it.

Great review."

Thanks! It was a super interesting book. I learned a lot reading it.

[Booknblues]

Heather Reads Books wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I loved this book when I read it.

Great review."

Thanks! It was a super interesting book. I learned a lot reading it."

Have you read his Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI? It is a totally different book, but I really liked it.

[Heather Reads Books]

No! But now I’m considering it. The FBI and their practices are research interests of mine, so it might be a good resource for me.

[Jen K]

I really like this one too and his Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. I'm a big fan of his writing and choice of topic.