Life and death in the rainforest

In 1925 Colonel Percy Fawcett and his son together with his son’s best friend started an expedition into the Amazon rainforest. They were searching for The Lost City of Z. The city itself was apocryphal but Fawcett, and others, had deduced its existence from writings and stories. They were convinced that it would be evidence of an advanced civilisation in the area and that that the city would contain treasure. It was not Fawcett’s first search for this city which he had inexplicably called Z but it was his last. He, his son and his whole expedition disappeared without trace.

David Grann’s book traced the life and hopes of Colonel Fawcett and the consequences to his family and to the world of exploration when he disappeared. He was an experienced explorer and knew the area well and he was also known for his good relationships with indigenous people. The book then looks at the various expeditions that were sent on the same quest or to find out what had happened in 1925 and the various stories and theories that they engendered. Finally, Grann himself travels to the area and is shown the vast remains of a ruined city which are hidden in dense forest and which, almost certainly, are the source of the original rumours (no one has ever found any treasure).

This is an excellent history story about exploration and the people who attempted it. Fawcett was one of a dying breed and might have been more suited to the late nineteenth century and the expeditions in various parts of the world. He was a fit and hardworking man with little consideration for others. The author is honest about the dangers that Fawcett faced, and also about what he might have done and the attitudes he held that could have made things more risky for him.

This is fascinating history and written in a very accessible style. I enjoyed it a lot.