behind the Ranges---
Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting
for you. Go!"
-from Rudyard Kipling's 'The Explorer,' a favorite poem of Fawcett
Had this book not been a Page Turner selection, there is a very good chance I would have abandoned it. That being said, I'm glad I made myself finish it because I learned a lot, including why I never want to explore the Amazon! (I facilitate our book club meetings so I don't really give myself the option of not finishing.) I did find this nonfiction interesting though not particularly entertaining, I am rating it a 3.
The book is written by David Grann, a staff writer for The New Yorker, his first as I understand it. It is very thoroughly researched and primary sources---journals, letters, interviews---are quoted, making it more appealing.
Appropriately subtitled A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, this is the story of Percy Harrison Fawcett whose explorations in South America in the early 1900's were legendary in some circles. (I had never heard of him so that was the first thing I learned.) In 1925 Fawcett led an expedition, including his son and his son's best friend, to the Amazonian forests to locate evidence of a legendary ancient civilization he called the City of Z. The disappearance of the group became a "history mystery" of huge significance to the world of explorers and adventurers, as dozens lost their lives in their attempts to rescue, or later, discover what happened to the Fawcett party.
The chapters of the book alternate between Fawcett's life as an explorer and Grann's own extensive efforts to uncover the mystery of Fawcett's expedition and the Lost City of Z. Other chapters are meant to describe topography, give related South American history and tell of the other explorers who took great risks in this hostile land.
At times I was intrigued, at others I felt I was slogging through the book like Fawcett and others had slogged through the jungle. I was grossed out by the descriptions of the miserable and dangerous conditions---pests, diseases, hunger and unpredictable natives.
The Lost City of Z reminded me of The River of Doubt by Candice Millard about Theodore Roosevelt's expedition on a tributary of the Amazon. In fact, Roosevelt's trek was mentioned a few times in Grann's book. Actually, I remember the Millard book being much more compelling.
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The book club rating was 2.9 for The Lost City of Z. Though we admired Grann's extensive research, we didn't find the book to be much of a page-turner. We agreed that Fawcett had extraordinary self-confidence to the point of arrogance and one person suggested the phrase "hard-driving narcissist" to describe him. We felt he was quite selfish in the way he ignored the needs of his wife and family to indulge his obsession. It was a relief that his treatment of the natives was more respectful than many other explorers of whom we have heard.
Our group agreed that we knew little about South America and appreciated what we had learned from the book.
Michael Heckenberger was a key figure, we thought, perhaps even a hero. He is an acclaimed archaeologist from the University of Florida (We can always be proud of an accomplished fellow Floridian!) whose contribution is revealed toward the end. I must not tell you more lest I spoil the reading if you have decided to undertake it.
Our discussion questions from litlovers.com suggested Brad Pitt purchased film rights to The Lost City of Z in 2010. In 2015 we are wondering if a movie is still in the making.
One of our creative members came dressed for exploring the Amazon and proceeded to show us what she had brought in her vest pockets----a can of Vienna sausages, binoculars (more like opera glasses), a map, a compass, a journal and a "machete" (actually a tiny knife), among other things. She wore a scarf---to trade with the natives, of course. What fun that was!
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