The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

The jungle at the interior of Honduras are said to be some of the most dangerous and most inhospitable in the world.  For centuries, Hondurans have retold a legend of a Ciudad Blanco, or White City, in the middle of the jungle area, and for decades different explorers and scientists have tried to locate ruins in the region, without much success.  Then in 2012, a new technology, lidar, gave proof that there were ruins under the dense canopy of the jungle.  A team of scientists and explorers undertook an expedition to find and study the site, with startling results. 

This is fairly sensationalized nonfiction about a modern day explorers. It was very interesting and written in an engaging style.  Preston captures the contrasts of the thrill of seeing a completely unspoiled jungle environment, with the terror of being surrounded by animals and insects that could kill you with one bite. The end of the book took an unexpected turn.  (spoiler alert) with a discussion about the role contagious diseases have played in world history, and specifically, in the devastation of populations of indigenous peoples of the Americas. I knew that great numbers of natives were killed by small pox and other diseases but I had no idea how many. It was interesting to have him end with dire predictions that the world could face another global pandemic like the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Of course this was written before 2020.  Um. Been there. Done that. (2017, 448 p.)

P.S.

I was a little bit delighted with how this tied in with the last Charlie Thorne book I read.  I didn't realize the Charlie Thorne book was based on a real legend.