Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Lost City of Z: a legendary British explorer's deadly quest to uncover the secrets of the Amazon by David Grann

11 reviews

jill_holly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious medium-paced

4.5

What a fascinating book! I love Grann's narrative non-fiction style that is meticulously researched and documented without being dry. I didn't know anything about Fawcett or the civilizations and tribes of the Amazon. I was struck by how mythic a figure Fawcett was and how his mystery has endured to the present day. I also had no idea he went on one Amazon expedition with a member of Shackleton's Antarctic one, which was an interesting connection! I like how Grann interspersed his own research and expedition journey with Fawcett's story, it made it come alive even more. And ultimately, this book made me realize how much we just don't know about the civilizations before us and made me curious to learn more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism and Violence

Minor: Animal death

briandbremer's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious fast-paced

4.0

This is a great zippy read, moving at a brusque pace and really putting the reader in the mindset of the the Europeans and Americans who hacked their way into the Amazon. Once again and to the detriment of the book, Grann can't help but insert himself into the story (the introduction ends on one of the most asinine cliffhangers in history given than Grann, you know, clearly wrote the book so he wasn't in peril of dying). But the chapters of him shopping for gear to go to the Amazon or flailing in the jungle are fairly short so as to not drag down the book. 

The ending is also darkly amusing (not about Fawcett and his expedition, but in the context of Grann writing the book at all and his general air of self importance). 

Grann spends all this time talking about his research into this mysterious Amazonian civilization only to meet with an anthropologist who's been living with a tribe in the Amazon at the end who is like, "Oh yeah, we found the city. We're publishing about it next year and I can show you the earthen wall 200 yards from here." It just shows the gap between Grann's armature archeology and what professionals are doing

Great read overall though

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Violence

bs1801's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Violence

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Cannibalism

dunningsk's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

I think this is a pretty safe bet if you have enjoyed Grann's other books or if you are at all interested in the novels of Michael Crichton, James Rollins, etc. It's pretty adventurous and interesting. Honestly if anything some of the little tidbits he drops into the story (e.g. that American anthropologist who

committed suicide

) were so compelling I wanted to put the book down and google it to learn more. 

I had never read or really heard anything about Fawcett before reading this. I completely understand why the story captivated so many people. I was sooo hungry for some more clues, more speculation, as to the party's fate. It was frustrating that we didn't get any of that although it's hardly Grann's fault. 

The last chapter describing the archeological finds was absolutely fascinating. That could be - and I'm sure already is - a whole book in and of itself. 

I hesitate to rate this 4 stars because i really feel like there were some areas that could have received more depth. But, at the same time, what's there on the pages was such a fun, fast, informative read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery and Violence

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Cannibalism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

grace_b_3's review against another edition

informative sad slow-paced

2.0

I really liked Killers of the Flower Moon, but this one wasn’t as compelling for me. 

This was an earlier book by Grann, so part of it may be him figuring out his writing style and such. I didn’t like how present he was in the narrative of this book. 

I also found the subject matter of Killers more interesting. There were things in this book that I would like to learn more about (mainly about the various Amazonian tribes and the lost civilization found there), but the focus, Fawcett, is what I found the least interesting. I did like the angle of his family and learning how his and Jack’s disappearance affected them, but the actual narrative of various expeditions to the Amazon was not what kept me reading.  Exploring the Amazon seems like a horrible experience and reading about someone repeatedly subjecting themself and others to it just wasn’t for me. 

If you find people pushing themselves to the limits of their endurance in harsh environments compelling, this might be the book for you.

Especially if you enjoy a story with a tragic, doomed air—from the start you know he went into and never came out and the book is just building towards that moment.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture and Abandonment

Insects

ezulc's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cait's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lautreamont's review against another edition

je l'ai oublié dans le train

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Slavery, Violence, and Cannibalism