I begin to wonder if Douglas Preston is even capable of writing a book that I do not enjoy. In The Lost City of the Monkey God Preston describes a trek into the jungles of Honduras in search of a lost civilization. A trek besieged by scientific infighting (is it fair to use advanced technology in these treks?) from the start turns into a scary jungle adventure that in the end will affect many of the team members forever (leprosy!!!)

Outstanding! THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD is an absolutely engrossing nonfiction narrative that transcends both culture and personal account, relating not only the author's experience during two expeditions to the Honduran Rainforest of Mosquitia, but also the history of quests in that region, of how Honduras was manipulated by megacorporations to become a Banana Republic and its struggles to rise above corruption and poverty. Author Preston also personalizes the struggles he and his fellows on the expeditions to "T1" and "T3" suffer from possibly permanent disease. His Afterword, discussing pandemics and how very vulnerable humans anywhere on the planet are, was written some years BEFORE the onset of Covid-19. Reading it now, nearly a year and a half into the Coronavirus Pandemic, his conclusions are incredibly chillingly prescient.

In THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, bestselling author Douglas Preston takes a break from his (and Lincoln Child's) Pendergast thriller series, and offers readers an engaging and fascinating non-fiction adventure mystery. It's very well-written and gripping. Definitely recommended.

For centuries in what is now Honduras, there have been folklore rumors of a vast city full of treasures in the jungle. It was often called The White City or the City Of The Monkey God and it was rumored that anyone who went there would sicken and die which was the reason the original inhabitants had disappeared and deserted the city. It was one of the last remaining mystery locations that explorers have on their bucket list.

In 2012, technology and resources met in a way that allowed an expedition to be mounted to find this city. A new technology named lidar, similiar in some ways to radar, allows a three dimensional image to be formed from a plane flying above a site. Prior work had narrowed the possible location to several tracts in impenetrable jungle and after the lidar work, there were three possible sites that might be profitable to explore. An expedition was formed of archologists, geologists, explorers and media to try to find the city.

It was a daunting expedition. There were no roads and even the roads closest to the jumping off place were controlled by the wars of the drug dealers in the area. There was hostility from the inhabitants whose ancestral cultural artifacts would be disturbed. The terrain was unimaginable and there were snakes, insects and other natural obstacles. Yet the exploration went ahead and a city of treasures that advanced knowledge of the cultural background of the area was found. There were obstacles even after discovery. Looters are a constant threat in this world as the artifacts found can be worth thousands. The Amazon jungles are being clear-cut, sometimes for logging and often for agriculture. There is tension between the government which sees this as a boon for their country and those opposed to the exploration. Preston documents all of these.

There are also other issues. Many of the expedition later were diagnosed with a parasitic disease called leishmaniasis. This disease is common in tropical areas. Preston discusses how climate change means that many of the diseases found in tropical areas are now spreading into the United States and even Canada and will be a challenge in the coming years. He also discusses the war between academics over exploration and whether such sites when discovered should be removed or left in situ. If left, they are in danger of destruction; if removed there is the possibility of destroying cultural barriers that prohibit such actions. Preston documents the exciting nature of the find and the difficulty the expedition encountered. This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.

The Lost City of the Monkey God revolves around the true discovery of a formerly lost city, one previously believed to be little more than myth, deep in the rainforests of Honduras. Douglas Preston, a freelance writer for publications like National Geographic and The New Yorker who is likely best known for being the co-author, alongside Lincoln Child, of the long-running Agent Pendergast series, joined the expedition and relays here a factual account of archeological discovery.

The narrative offers plenty of historical background and has a lot of really interesting nooks and crannies to it. Preston does a fantastic job of countering the ethnocentric belief that the indigenous tribes that called this Lost City home were any sort of primitive. Although they certainly had customs, practices, and beliefs that were foreign to the Spanish conquistadors that would eventually perpetuate genocide upon rank barbarity among the South American continent, this notion that the native populations were somehow inferior or savage is little more than racism and I appreciated that Preston combatted such assumptions along the way, taking the time to remind readers about the importance of avoiding ethnocentric assumption, particularly in fields of science and history. He also does a fantastic job relaying the harsh realities of life in the jungle, and the sort of diseases prevalent in these regions and how climate change may lend to more widespread infections as previously inhospitable areas become warmer and more able to provide habitable spaces for diseases and parasites.

While The Lost City of the Monkey God is an interesting exploration into the Honduran jungle, the audio narration is also pretty damn dry, unfortunately. Narrator Bill Mumy doesn't bring a lot of excitement or range to reading Preston's workmanlike rose, sticking to a matter of fact delivery. I wouldn't recommend listening to this book if you're tired or easily distracted. That said, it is a worthwhile exploration of a fascinating topic.

This book is about the search for the legendary White City also known as the Lost City of the Monkey God. The author takes the reader through the lengthy process of eventually finding it in the unexplored jungles of Honduras from a first hand participant viewpoint. I found the story of interest, but the book was inconsistent (hard to put down at times and easy to walk away from at others) and read like it was being written for a potential movie plot. 

I recomend this book for those looking for those looking for a story about the discovery of an unknown civilization.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

This is a very well researched and interesting book about a not very well known area in Central America.

I'm usually not a non-fiction reader, but I love archeology and I've read almost all of Mr. Preston's fiction, so I knew his writing would be pretty engaging. He gives a good background history of the legend and expeditions searching for the White City in Mosquitia in Honduras, and then documents his own participation in a successful expedition looking for the Lost City of the Monkey God. The last bit of the book documents a specific jungle disease, what it might have had to do with the sudden exodus of the inhabitants of the City, and the frightening prospect of it moving north as America gets warmer. Not as suspenseful as The Lost City of Z, but still a well written jungle-adventure-without-the-bugs for us armchair would-be archeologists.

Fantastic modern day adventure book. For young adults looking to be inspired by the idea that there are still mysteries in the world, this is the perfect tale.

4 Stars!

I have been a fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child for a long time. Whether they are writing together or individually, I always look forward to their books. I was happy to get a review copy of The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston and eagerly dove into the nonfiction book looking for the thrills and entertainment that I have come to expect from the author.

The world had long known about the ancient civilizations that had once ruled over Central and South America. The ruins of these ancient empires had been unearthed and explored as civilization tried to understand the past as it marched into the future. Each new discovery felt incomplete, however, as there loomed over it all a legend of an ancient empire that had yet to be unearthed. Rumors of a city of vast wealth deep in the jungles of Honduras have persisted since Hernan Cortes first came to the new world. The White City, or the City of the Lost Monkey God, had forever remained a mystery shrouded in a legend that foretold death for anyone who found its ruins. It was the holy grail of archaeology in the Americas and its secrets were to be unveiled at last.

In 2012, Douglas Preston joined a group of archaeologists on a mission to discover the lost city and uncover its secrets. The team was optimistic about its chances for success due to a new technology that would allow them to map the terrain that lay underneath the dense foliage of the rain forest. Preston was on the flight in a plane that seemed held together by little more than tape and well wishes when the technology, called lidar, found evidence of an ancient metropolis tucked inside a secluded canyon. Even the amazing technology, however, could not overcome the dangers of the jungle the guarded the ruins. When the party was not threatened by deadly snakes or carnivorous animals, the torrential rains and ensuing mudslides seemed determined to stop its progress. The curse of the lost city seemed to come to life when the members of the expedition found themselves beset by a deadly disease that could have been the very thing that caused the legend of the city to first be born.

Preston has always had a fascination for ancient civilizations an often uses them in his novels. Preston brings that passion to this book and drags the reader into a world of intrigue in the dense rain forest. This passion is what keeps the book from becoming a dull nonfiction chronicle of the expedition and makes it read almost like a work of fiction full of intrigue and excitement. It is almost possible to feel the fear and excitement of the expedition as it enters into the jungle and begins to unravel the mystery of the lost city. Preston is able to present the hard facts from the reality into the story in a way that does not bog down the narrative yet allows it to flow smoothly so that it educates and informs even while it thrills. Even though the story is true and the facts are laid out clearly, the reader still feels as if the story is unfolding around him as he is transported into the world of the book. The first half of the book reads as a high adventure interspersed with fact and science that Preston presents as a wonder of the modern world meeting the ancient secrets of the forest.

The second half of the book transitions to the disease that follows the members of the expedition out of the jungle and the book slows some as Preston dwells upon its effects on the explorers. This makes the second part of the book slower than the first but no less interesting. Preston presents the details of the disease in an immediate fashion and then goes into details about the trials and tribulations needed to overcome the illness. It is easy to see how the city was believed to be cursed when such a rare and exotic disease made its nest there. It is Preston’s ability to mix fact with storytelling and his fascination with science that raises it to the level of seeming almost supernatural that makes this book so much fun to read. The Lost City of the Monkey God is both entertaining and educational as Preston weaves a true story in the fashion of a true storyteller. This book is highly recommended for Preston’s fans as well as for those who have an interest in ancient civilizations and the struggles of modern man to understand the past.

I would like to thank Grand Central and NetGalley for this review copy. The Lost City of the Monkey God is available now.

The Lost City of the Monkey Gods by Douglas Preston

I went into this book expecting the slightly over the edge of reality that seems to characterize some of Preston’s books. That is not a criticism, I liked Impact and The Codex. I expected more of the same. This book is not a fantasy, this is an journey of discovery of a city that truly was lost in time.

Honduras was the home of a legend of a White City lost somewhere in the interior jungle. Many explorers searched for the lost city and it’s treasures. Some even claimed to have found it but were later exposed as frauds. A film maker was bitten by the exotic bug of a lost city and organized several expeditions to find it. Modern technology enabled a more accurate and thorough search. Two cities were found and the author was covering the story for the National Geographic Society.

Most impressive aspects were the isolated nature of the terrain with the excitement of a monumental archeological discovery. The exotic bug was not just an expression but a sad factor of jungle exploration. Many members of the team were bitten by sand flies that carried the parasite that causes leishmaniasis, a disease I had never heard of. A good portion of the book was the description of that particular disease and the impact of disease on the indigenous population of the Caribbean and the Americas.

The author spends some time talking about the invasion of diseases formerly restricted to certain areas of the world and how air travel and global warming are impacting the spread of heretofore obscure diseases around the world. Preston points out that while these diseases were historically confined to the impoverished that today may be spread far beyond that population.

This was an interesting book with some sobering insights.

Web Site: http://www.prestonchild.com/

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was really interesting to follow the story of how Preston and an archaeology trekked into the Honduras to find ruins from an ancient civilization. However, I felt this book had some problems. I don't feel Preston properly acknowledged the political climate and implications of looking for ruins on Honduras's local indigenous peoples. It felt like he was dismissive of their concerns, and this is a concept he could have visited with more depth. Preston also used a lot of imperialist and colonialist language throughout that felt very out of place for a modern day book on researching ancient civilizations. It left me feeling very unsettled about many facets of their research operation, but I also find it important to learn about this. For this reason I wish Preston had focused more on the history of the area and its political implications rather than the adventure aspect. It risks perpetuating a lot of imperialism and stereotypes otherwise.

As an armchair adventurer, I found this narrative to be a compelling addictive read.
Before reading this book, I was unaware of the lost Ciudad Blanca (White City) located in the in the formidable rainforests deep in Honduras’ interior and the associated legends, myths and superstitions.
I so enjoyed how the storyline unfolded the history of the region, the past expeditions, the rumors regarding those who did venture into the sacred city, and the politics and securing of funds and personnel for this last expedition.
There is no doubt that the scenery and landscape is breathtaking as mother nature’s ability to survive in a world where too often her treasures are carelessly destroyed but is the harrowing details of the exploration regarding the environmental challenges, where the expected becomes the unexpected, makes this a tantalizing read.
I was kept in a constant state of intrigue, as expected by from a best-seller thriller author, and was excited when their perseverance paid off. But was thrown off-guard when the Ciudad Blanca had one last challenge to impart to the expedition team.
Overall, this was a fascinating and provocative read for me.

To put it simply, "The Lost City of the Monkey God" is more than a fascinating documentation about tracking down and rediscovering a unique American civilization that once thrived in the rainforest of what is now Honduras. Preston's book joins Charles Mann's monumental work "1491" as an absolute must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the complexities of the pre-Colombus Americas and the wealth of critical lessons that they have to teach us here in the present-day.

Riveting
Drew me in from pagd one
Highly recommend

A promising beginning just sort of peters out - I lost interest HARD and had to drag myself through the final third. Perhaps if it focused on just one of the many threads here - the archaeology, the mercenaries, the culture, ANYTHING - I would have enjoyed it more. After the umpteenth close call with a snake, however, I gave this one up as a lost cause.

I enjoy most of this author's books, although he can get a bit wordy at times. In the Lost City he refrains from that and the snakes, spiders and angry spirits keep the story in cliff hanger mode. An added bonus is the chance of an incurable disease called leishmaniasis. By the book, enjoy the story and look before you step

Anything written by Douglas Preston is a fun time. Really enjoyed this non-fiction book.

I enjoyed many parts of this book, others not as much.

Title: The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
Author: Douglas Preston
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Amazon|Indiebound |Goodreads
Rating: four-stars
Summary: This was a fun adventure story, but a little light on the science and archeology.

A mysterious civilization as wealthy as the Maya has long been rumored to be hidden in the mountainous Mosquitia region of Honduras. However, it was only with the advent of LIDAR, a sonar-like technology for mapping the jungle floor, that any progress was made in the search. The two sprawling cities revealed by this mapping were incredible discoveries that the author was able to explore on foot, enduring encounters with “torrential rains, quickmud, disease-carrying insects, jaguars, and deadly snakes” (source). This is the story of that expedition.

The author of this book, Douglas Preston, is also the author of a best-selling series of thrillers and it shows! This was a fast-paced, engaging read. Preston did a masterful job foreshadowing dangers to come and leaving the reader at cliffhanger pauses. He also keep me reading quickly with short chapters and snappy writing. I enjoyed the arc of the story as well. The context provided by previous searches for the city made the modern expedition even more fascinating. The interpretation of the finding afterwards was equally enjoyable to read.

My one complaint about this book is that the science and archeology that were included were not explained in any depth. The author did share the interpretation of the artifacts that were found and I think he did so in an impressively nuanced way. Unfortunately, he never explained how the archeologists reached any of their conclusion or gave any of the evidence on either side when different researchers disagreed. Likewise, the biology presented was dumbed down to the point where it drove me a little crazy as someone who works in biology. I think how much you’re likely to enjoy this book largely depends on what you’re expecting. If you just want an awesome, real-life adventure, I think this would be the perfect read. If you’re looking to learn about archeology, I’d probably look elsewhere.