The Lost City of the Monkey God – Douglas Preston

Preston is one of my favorite science-based thriller writers. When I saw this book I snatched it up not realizing it’s non-fiction. It made no difference. The book-based on his adventures in Honduras-is every bit as fascinating as one of his thrillers. There have long been rumors about a lost city in the Honduran interior. In 2012, Preston joined a team of scientists on a quest to find it. Going off findings from lidar (an amazing new mapping technology), Preston ventured into the densest kind of rainforest; terrain which hasn’t seen human habitation in hundreds of years. Battling impenetrable foliage, torrential rains, disease-carrying insects and deadly snakes, the group makes one of the greatest discoveries of the 21st century. Preston covers every inch of the battle from challenges posed by an ever-changing Honduran government to unchecked drug lords to environmental hostility. Intriguing glimpses are granted into a culture which predated the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors but vanished shortly after. Why? Preston’s answer presents a chilling reality for societies which all coalesce, peak and ultimately disappear.