2009 # 2

David Grann - The Lost City of Z - Finished - 1/3/2009

I am not sure how to classify this one. It seems to be part history and part fiction. I switches between the Author (David Grann) as he puts together information from various documents detailing the many expiditions of English explorer Percy Fawcett's into the uncharted Amazon beginning in the 1920's. Grann eventually goes to Brazil himself to try to follow the trail of Fawcett's last search for what he called the lost city of Z. Most of the book is taken up with the history of the exploration of the Amazon by a host of explorers over the years, Fawcett foremost among them as they mapped, cataloged and searched for lost El Dorado's and fabled native tribes, all the while fighting one of the most inhospitable areas on the planet. While the rain forest looks lush, it is actually a place of poor soils, hundreds of very nasty insects, plants and animals and unless you know where and how to find it, very little in the way of food. Top that off with a climate that quickly debilitates those not acclimated to it. Altho not quite what I expected, I enjoyed this book and will gladly experience the Amazon from the comfort of my recliner thank you.

ISBN - 978-0-385-51353-1, Historical Fiction, Pages - 368, Print Size - R, Rating - 4.25