SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

Hello everyone!

I hope most of you have had a chance to start reading the book. I thought I would include a video link from The New Yorker that highlights some key moments of the expedition, including the discovery of the cache!

http://video.newyorker.com/watch/note...

Looking at the aerial shots of La Mosquitia I feel like LiDAR was the only way to successfully identify any evidence of a past civilization. The rainforest is so dense!

Feel free to share your thoughts on the video or any aspect of the book.

Thanks!

~Nicole~

Oooh that's cool! I'm listening to the audio book so I haven't seen any images yet (I'm planning on getting a hard copy of the book just for that). It's a beautiful area. It must have been incredible to go to all that work to get there and then actually find artifacts!!! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Heidi!

I read the print copy of the book. How are you finding the audiobook so far?

There are some photos in the book as well that help give the reader an idea of the location, people involved, and some of the artifacts from the expedition.

I tried my best not to flip ahead to the photos. I wanted to create an image of the landscape first rather than having the photos frame my perspective.

Yes, how amazing that they actually had video footage of when they discovered the cache? They could have just walked right on by it if that one team member hadn't noticed the object partially sticking out of the ground.

~Nicole~

Hi Nicole (and Heidi!),

Thank you so much for sharing this video! Like Heidi, I am currently listening to the audio version, so being able to actually see the area and some of the highlights of the expedition is awesome. The audio book is really enjoyable so far, but I agree that I will definitely want to take a look at the print book to see the photos.

I was listening on my way into work today, and am just at the part where they are first able to see the images LiDar picked up, confirming the existence of the Lost City. So exciting! This book is definitely not my typical read, but it is absolutely fascinating!

Hi Diana!

Happy to hear that you're enjoying the audiobook so far. It is an exciting read and Preston does a really good job of making you feel a part of the expedition - the harsh environment, the excitement of discovery, and the logistics involved overall.

Like you I don't think this is a book I would normally read but I'm glad I did. Prior to reading I took a look at some reviews on goodreads (not always a good idea) where people commented that the book was boring but that hasn't been my experience.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

~Nicole~

So just following up on my previous comment, I did get the hard copy of the book and while it was nice to see the faces of the people on the expedition, I don’t feel like I was really missing out by listening to the book instead of reading it.

Hi Heidi,

I agree. The photos were nice to put a face to the name for some of the expedition members.

I did like seeing the photos of some of the artifacts from the cache: the were-jaguar, "alien baby", and the shaman vulture.

~Nicole~