A review by otterparty
The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

adventurous dark hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

The most interesting part for me is the tension in the field of archaeology between "true" field work, unspoiled by press, and field work that courts press to try and save the ruins (and ostensibly make money by selling books to the public). This tension permeates the expedition itself as well as reactions to this book. It would be fascinating to dig deeper into the moral conundrums here: don't bring along writers and filmmakers to drum up awareness and enthusiasm, and risk losing the site to looters or deforestation? Or leave the writers/filmmakers/adventure seekers out and don't write the popular articles, preserving utmost archaeological integrity but risking the destruction of the site in the process?
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