Author Douglas Preston, tells the story of a true, hair-raising adventure

Douglas Preston, the author of 2017’s “The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story,” tells an enriching and enlightening story of him and his team’s adventure to find a lost civilization deep in the dense Honduran rainforest. The book made best seller for New York Times and Wall Street Journal and was named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic.

The book tells a compelling, true, eyewitness account of Preston’s journey with his team into the remote, impenetrable jungles of Honduras, a region known as La Mosquitia, in search of the legendary White City or City of the Monkey God. For centuries, legends of a “lost city” built of white stone have inspired explorers and adventurers from around the world, all attempting to be the first to find it and take home the riches and ancient artifacts that supposedly lay inside. The city is believed to be guarded by monkeys, and is thought to be a place so sacred that whomever should venture into Mosquitia in hopes of finding the “lost city,” should be met with their death. Inflamed with curiosity of an unknown city, Preston, an American journalist, along with a group of scientists, photographers, film producers and archeologists, and the expedition’s logistics chief, travel to Mosquitia to rediscover the rumored “lost city.”

“The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story” is an enthralling page-turner that keeps even the most impatient, distracted of readers fully engrossed in the story, eager to learn more about Preston’s adventures. At times, however, I had to reread multiple pages due to the many convoluted side stories and small details of Preston’s fast-paced writing. Because of his focus on sharing his adventure to find the “lost city,” Preston’s writing can sometimes feel very clinical, not focusing much on his experiences in Honduras or his relationships with the team. Other than that, I found the book to be one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read. It’s a truly fascinating and riveting book, especially knowing it’s true and that there are still pieces of history and territory we have yet to discover.

On their journey through the dense valleys of Mosquitia, the team is met with many serious, life-threatening dangers such as jaguars, deadly snakes, disease-carrying insects, quickmud and sometimes lethal, and incurable, diseases. Although Preston doesn’t talk much about himself, he gives very detailed and captivating descriptions into the people he’s worked with, even diving into the personal lives of past adventurers who attempted to find the White City.

Preston tells a true, exciting adventure story filled with suspense, shock and unexpected twists of fate. “The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story” describes what is explained to be “one of the great discoveries of the 21st century” and it deserves your read.