A five-hundred-year-old legend. An ancient curse. A stunning medical mystery. And a pioneering journey into the unknown heart of the world’s densest jungle. Since the days of conquistador Hernán Cortés, rumors have circulated about a lost city of immense wealth hidden somewhere in the Honduran interior, called the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God. Indigenous tribes speak of … of ancestors who fled there to escape the Spanish invaders, and they warn that anyone who enters this sacred city will fall ill and die. In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God-but then committed suicide without revealing its location.
Three quarters of a century later, bestselling author Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a groundbreaking new quest. In 2012 he climbed aboard a rickety, single-engine plane carrying the machine that would change everything: lidar, a highly advanced, classified technology that could map the terrain under the densest rainforest canopy. In an unexplored valley ringed by steep mountains, that flight revealed the unmistakable image of a sprawling metropolis, tantalizing evidence of not just an undiscovered city but an enigmatic, lost civilization.
Venturing into this raw, treacherous, but breathtakingly beautiful wilderness to confirm the discovery, Preston and the team battled torrential rains, quickmud, disease-carrying insects, jaguars, and deadly snakes. But it wasn’t until they returned that tragedy struck: Preston and others found they had contracted in the ruins a horrifying, sometimes lethal-and incurable-disease.
Suspenseful and shocking, filled with colorful history, hair-raising adventure, and dramatic twists of fortune, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD is the absolutely true, eyewitness account of one of the great discoveries of the twenty-first century.
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This is a true-life account of a group of scientists and journalist who ventured into the undiscovered “lost city” in Honduras. This is not the type of book that I usually read, but I found it fascinating in terms of possible past history, the colonization of the Americas and impact on the future state of our world. The descriptive accounts of the beauty of the rainforest were awesome! The risks associated with exploring it, including the creatures, insects and resulting diseases…well, very scary! I’ve been fortunate to have experienced travel to some of the Central and South American rainforests. I had forgotten how truly dangerous they are!
This was a excellent read, jam packed with adventure and history. A true story well worth your reading time. Don’t miss it!
Wonderful combination of adventure, archaeology, nature, and history.
Non fiction written at its very entertaining best by Douglas Preston.
A lost civilization in an almost impenetrable Honduran jungle left their city for an unknown reason. Preston and the research team endure almost unimaginable hardships and danger to locate this city and search for an answer.
Equal parts horrifying and fascinating, I sped through The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story like a woman possessed.
The Lost City is Douglas Preston’s account of the discovery of a “lost city” deep within the Honduran rain forest. From the earliest days of its suspected existence to the unearthing of the first artifacts, Preston was there documenting the entire process. The city, known sometimes – perhaps mythically – as the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God – was abandoned roughly at the time of the Spanish conquest by a people who did not belong to the Mayan culture which dominated much of the region. Preston’s descriptions are equal part science writing and travelogue; there’s more than a hint of David Quammen here.
To give you a glimpse of the expedition itself: snakes bigger than men; mud up to the waist (in which one archaeologist believe she truly might sink and die); an insignificant tent in the face of fierce rains; transport by aircraft that have cycled through several countries’ militaries before acquisition by Honduras; and bugs, bugs, bugs galore. Beyond the exhibition itself, Preston does an excellent job of providing the historical and cultural context for the both the ancient people from the region as well as Honduras today, much of which has been shaped by Spanish and then American imperialism. Oy.
About the aftermath of the expedition, I can only say, oh the humanity! Preston, along with approximately half of the expedition team, is struck by the tropical disease leishmaniasis, the description of which took me back to my years at Johns Hopkins working on public health content and being constantly amazed and disgusted at the myriad things that could go wrong with the human body.
It is a horrifying disease, and one largely without cure – Preston and the others were treated by the NIH, and with varying degrees of success, because that is literally the only place in America where one can be treated. The side effects of the treatment include anorexia and feeling like your head is on fire and may explode. Then there are the unlucky folks who can’t tolerate treatment for even long enough to get the side effects…and we’re talking mere minutes here.
Circling back to David Quammen, where I really made the connection was in Preston’s analysis of the progress of “leish” and it’s slow but determined march north, deep into the U.S. There’s no doubt that it falls in the same category as the equally horrifying diseases Quammen profiles in Spillover.
And although there’s plenty for the horror files here, or perhaps because of it, this is a book that anyone who’s concerned about public health, healthcare in America, climate change should read; it’s also a book that anyone who loves travel, history, culture, or science, or wants to understand more about the sacrifices individuals make in the name of science, will truly enjoy reading. This is a thought-provoking read on so many levels.
(This review was originally published at http://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2018/06/the-lost-city-of-monkey-god-true-story.html)
The Lost City of the Monkey God is the true story of Douglas Preston accompanying a group of archeologists (plus a troop of supporting roles—pilot, soldiers, various visitors, etc.). In their search to uncover the White City, as it was known, they endured and overcame a slew of obstacles, including a deadly snake which invaded their camp. But their biggest challenge occurred when they returned home and were confronted with a mysterious disease they contracted during their excavation.
The tale is fascinating and told in Mr. Preston’s usual thorough, yet readable style. If you have an interest in archaeology and adventure, then this is a good book, written by a master of words.
Knowing the story is true, it is more fascinating and intriguing. It seemed like too it’s seem to be two stories in one book
Great use of truth for fiction.
Fascinating to learn of a forgotten people
This guy could write a grocery list and I would read it!
I loved this book. I am a frustrated archaeologist and so that was not hard but oh my, to work in one of the last pristine sites on the planet. WOW! Of course the hardships the team suffered were dreadful and I was glad not to be there but this a real life adventure story and I highly recommend it.
You can learn a lot from this book. It is a true story, it kept my attention and i was amazed at what is happening to our world.
The author and some of the others from the trip STILL have challenges health wise . As someone interested in the “finding lost cities” this book was WONDERFUL. Douglas Preston has an ability to put the reader there with him. His fiction books are always a go to when I want to read. With this I can add a non fiction book to grab any time I want an adventure that was real.
The best character in this book is THE JUNGLE. It’s deadly, it’s creepy-crawly, it’s dark and dank — it will haunt you. Read at your own peril, if you dare. This is true horror.
Preston again at his non-fiction best … the Lost City of the Monkey God chronicles his journey with an explorer searching for a long lost city/civilization in the depths of the Honduran jungle. Their find is simply stunning, fraught with danger and courage, and reveals what is likely the source of the source of the so-called “curse” of the city … a source that is real and tried to claim lives of the exploration team.
It reads like a novel but is all true.
Very interesting story !!!!!!!!!! It is amazing that there are probably many more areas in this world that are still undiscovered and unexplored .
True story of the search for a legendary lost city in Honduras. Wonderful job chronicling the expedition from locating sites for investigation, setting up camp (sand flies, mosquitoes, snakes…oh my) to dealing with various locals, officials etc.
Gives a real sense of how hard the work was in the heat & humidity, the awe of discovery and the people involved. Tells the history of the searches for lost cities in Honduras, from Cortes to the present, the con artists as well as serious exploration and meshes it all seamlessly into the current expedition.
The book held my interest throughout, but then I’m a sucker for Mesoamerican history, lost cities and archeology. Also, didn’t hurt the author is Douglas Preston, one half of the writing team of Preston and Child of the Pendergast series.