If you are only going to read one book with lost city in the tile , make it lost city of z.if only one one Douglas Preston book,I preferred dinosaurs in the attic. That said, this is a well told story. A bit of history, a bit of archeology and a couple of fun "yikes, the jungle is out to get me,"moments. I felt he tried to play that aspect up a little too much. I read a lot of first hand accounts and it seemed Preston encountered more snakes and Jaguars than all the zoo explorers I've read combined.course, most were just noses in thenight. And way, enjoyable if sometimes controversial read ( )

Douglas Preston bit off a little more than he could chew when he set out with an expedition to the Honduran jungle to uncover a "lost civilization." For all he had heard about venomous snakes, deadly jaguars, and tropical diseases, he didn't really take them seriously until disease-ridden sandflies chewed him up and spit him out, leaving him with a stern case of visceral leishmaniasis. If left untreated, the disease could have resulted in Preston losing his mouth and nose to this flesh-eating disease, and possibly having his face cave in on itself. You'd think Preston would have learned his lesson but NO HE DID NOT. So charmed was he with the discoveries his colleagues made he went back into the jungle for the official opening of the site to archaeological recovery. Since the Columbian drug lords moved head offices to Honduras, it has been a notoriously dangerous place to do business or, for that matter, recover lost treasure. Honduran farmers are busy destroying the jungle for grazing land and any hint of ancient art buried in the land brings poachers. Nothing would make me eager to come face-to-face with a six-foot-long fer-de-lance snake and his/her 1.5" fangs. I sometimes wonder about people's sanity. ( )

This may be a decent book for many readers, but I have read better adventure/exploration books (Lost City of Z, River of Doubt, Walk in the Woods, To Timbuktu and others). The adventure was mild, the science was sketchy, and too many assumptions that lead to conclusions based on sinking mud. I would suggest moving on to something a little more rewarding. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. Easy to read and a wild history and story. ( )

The 500 year old legend said there was an ancient city hidden the Honduran rain forest and those who went there fell ill and died. Author Preston joined an scientific expedition in 2012 to find this city and explore it. Using latest technology such as Lidar that permitted the exploring of the jungle canopy from the air they discovered the exact location of the ancient buildings and planned an on foot exploration.

The trip would prove dangerous because of snakes, including the deadly fer-de-lance, multiple diseases carried by insects including leishmaniasis and wild animals such as the jaguar. Most of the participants would become affected with tropical diseases, some who will probably suffer from them for the rest of their lives.

An exciting and challenging true story that challenges the reader to ask, "Could I do such a trip?" ( )