In the The Lost City of Z, David Grann — a staff writer for the New Yorker — recounts one of the greatest exploration mysteries of the 20th century: a legendary British surveyor Percy H. Fawcett‘s widely publicized expedition into the depths of the Amazonian jungle in Brazil in seach of the ancient El Dorado-like city that he simply called “Z.”

Fawcett, along with his elder son Jack and his friend Raleigh Rimmell never returned, but their disappearance caused a complete frenzy and didn’t stop countless others, including David Grann, from venturing deep into the Amazonian jungle to find Fawcett or the mysterious lost city.

With The Lost City of Z, Grann grabbed my attention and I will definitely seek out other titles about the Amazonian rain forest, ancient South America and exploration in general. This is a well-researched, captivating and highly recommended book.

The Lost City of Z [Amazon]

Repost from June 16, 2010.