Related Reading for The Lost City of Z

I hope you've enjoyed our May Featured Book of the Month, The Lost City of Z. Our June selection will be posted soon!

In the meantime, you might enjoy reading these related, recently published Lost City of Z titles!

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession
David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z

Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle
Daniel Leonard Everett

Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu
Christopher Heaney

The Thief at the End of The World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire
Joe Jackson

Where the Road Ends: A Home in the Brazilian Rainforest
Binka Le Brenton

The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon
Monte Reel

Discussion Questions for The Lost City of Z*

I hope you're enjoying The Lost City of Z! Without giving too much away, here are a few discussion questions for you to consider. Post a comment about them or just tell us what you think about the book--we would love to hear from you!

How would you describe Fawcett? A rational man of science? A victim of his own obsession? What were his most admirable qualities and what aspects of his character were most troubling?

Does the interweaving of Grann's own story of his search for the truth about what happened to Fawcett add to or detract from The Lost City of Z?

What does The Lost City of Z reveal about the nature of obsession? Why were people fascinated by Fawcett in 1925? Why are people still fascinated by him 85 years after his disappearance?

Does The Lost City of Z remind you of any other books you have read, either fiction or non-fiction?

*Discussion questions courtesy of litlovers.com, murmur.com, and me!

About David Grann

David Grann is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and the author of The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (2009) and his latest book, The Detective and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession (2010).

Prior to joining The New Yorker, Grann was a senior editior and contributor at The New Republic, and has also written for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal.

Grann's stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Best American Crime Writing (2004, 2005, and 2009) and The Best American Sports Writing (2003 and 2006). He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Be sure to read this interesting interview with David Grann about The Lost City of Z, or listen to his NPR interview on Talk of the Nation!

About The Lost City of Z

Our May Featured Book of the Month is a true adventure story! In The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann, renowned British explorer Percy Fawcett embarked on an expedition deep into the Amazon jungle in 1925, vowing to make archaeological history by locating an undiscovered ancient civilization he called the Lost City of Z. He was never heard from again ...

While researching a story, The New Yorker writer David Grann stumbled on a reference to Fawcett's role in inspiring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, The Lost World. Intrigued, Grann began reading as much as possible about Fawcett and became fascinated by his idea of Z. Armed with information uncovered in Fawcett's private diaries and logbooks, he headed into the Amazon, determined to discover the truth about the explorer and his fatal mission--despite his utter lack of outdoorsmanship, his terrible sense of direction, and the knowledge that over 100 "Fawcett Freaks" had perished in the jungle before him ...

Did Fawcett find Z? Did Grann find Fawcett? Let's read and find out!

Next week, I'll post more information about author David Grann. And in the weeks to come, I'll post some discussion questions and a related reading booklist. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy The Lost City of Z. Your comments are always welcome!