The Lost City of Z by David Grann: Book Review

In 1925, Percy Fawcett, a seasoned Amazonian explorer, his son and son’s friend set out to find a fabulous city in the Amazon that Fawcett calls only “Z.” The world had become fascinated with the expedition. Fawcett sent back a few reports, but then none of the men were ever heard from again.

Over the years, many other explorers have set out to solve the mystery of the Fawcett party. All were unsuccessful. Many died. Many theories about what had happened to the men were put forward. All were eventually disproved. David Grann stumbles onto the mystery and starts researching Fawcett and the city of Z.

I listened to this book and it just never grabbed me. I enjoy listening to Mark Deakins, so it wasn’t his fault. It was just hard for me to keep up with everyone in the audio format. I couldn’t keep up with who was in the Amazon looking for whom, which natives were good or bad, and whether I was in the past with Fawcett or in the present with Grann. I have a sneaking suspicion that my iPod skipped over a few sections but I didn’t really notice because all the expeditions just blended into one big one for me.

I did like the end. There was some resolution to the “lost city” part of the story, and it was surprising.

I really don’t have anything to add. I have a feeling that I would have liked this much more if I had actually read it. If you’re interested, be sure to pick up a print copy.

Read an excerpt.

Find author David Grann on his website and the book’s website.

Buy The Lost City of Z at

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