TOW #8 (IRB)- "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann

If you’re ever want to read something that entails both mystery and adventure, The Lost City of Z will be just what you’re looking for. I recently read The Lost City of Z by David Grann and was overwhelmed by the great story of the British explorer, Percy Fawcett. David Grann, who is an author and staff writer for the New Yorker, was intrigued by the famed explorer and his quest to find the mysterious city of gold deep within the Amazon jungle that Fawcett referred to as “Z.” Fawcett and his small team, which included his son, went missing in the Amazon on their search for Z and never returned. Dozens people have set out into the Amazon to solve the mysterious disappearance of Fawcett, and over a 100 of whom have died in the process. Grann later decides to attempt to solve the mystery himself and travels to the last place Fawcett was seen alive, a small camp in present-day Brazil named Dead Horse Camp. After weeks of hacking his way through the dense jungle and talking to local Indian tribes, Grann suspects that he found the lost city of Z that Fawcett believed existed. In fact, Michael Heckenberger, an anthropologist at the University of Florida, recently discovered the city, which local Indians named Kuhikugu. Unfortunately, Kuhikugu was nothing like the city of gold described by Fawcett and after years of searching, neither Heckenberger nor Grann succeeded in finding the remains of Fawcett and his team of explorers. Ultimately, Grann’s purpose for writing this book is to inform readers of Percy Fawcett’s many dangerous explorations and his determination to find the lost city of gold. Even though Grann’s explorations proved unsuccessful, he effectively achieves his purpose in his book with the use of descriptive imagery and diction.  When describing his own journey to Dead Horse Camp, Grann states, “Each time I thought that I had reached the end of the mangrove forest, anew swath opened up before me—the large patches of tall, damp reeds clouded with piums and mosquitoes, which ate into me” (306). Throughout the book, while Grann recounts his adventure and Fawcett’s exploration, he uses many descriptors that portray the Amazon jungle in dangerous and intimidating manner. This enhances his purpose and allows him to effectively argue that Fawcett is one of the most determined and fearless explorers to ever live. In my opinion, Grann does an excellent job of accomplishing his purpose as he explains the difficulties he and Fawcett endured using imagery and diction that gives readers a vivid image of the formidable Amazon jungle.