Searching for a Lost City

In April, the South River Book Discussion Group members met to talk about the nonfiction book The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston and to partake in a traditional Honduran treat of baked bananas (with coconut). Below are resources for those wishing to learn more about the intriguing expedition and discovery detailed in the book.

"One might say that modern  Honduran history began in 1873, when Jules Verne introduced Americans to the banana in his novel Around the World in 80 Days, where he praised it as being 'as healthy as bread and as succulent as cream.'" - The Lost City of the Monkey God

Author Bios & Interviews

• https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/douglas-preston
• https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/lost-city-monkey-god-close-enough/#!
• https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/4/14502606/the-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god-interview-honduras-civilization
• https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/csi_interviews_douglas_preston_on_the_lost_city_of_the_monkey_god
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xbGbkromI4 [VIDEO]

Book Reviews

• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/books/review/lost-city-of-monkey-god-douglas-preston.html
• https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/lost-city-monkey-god/#!
• https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781455540006
• https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/douglas-preston/the-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god/
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/sc-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god-douglas-preston-books-0124-20170123-story.html
• http://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/books/book_reviews/the-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god-by-douglas-preston/article_10f18380-3381-5e5e-9064-ee7f32a101f5.html

Discussion Questions

• http://sites.psu.edu/markbonta/2017/01/17/24/
• http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-nonfiction

Miscellany

• Trailer for the National Geographic documentary: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/explorer/episodes/legend-of-the-monkey-god/
• National Geographic article (with photographs) by the author: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150302-honduras-lost-city-monkey-god-maya-ancient-archaeology/
• The New York Times article by another journalist who visited the expedition: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/opinion/finding-this-lost-city-in-honduras-was-the-easy-part.html

Further Reading

These are books mentioned by Preston throughout the text, containing additional historical context.

• Annals of the Cakchiquels by Francisco Hernandez Arana Xajila
• The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel (http://www.mayaweb.nl/mayaweb/chilam.pdf)
• The Cost of Conquest: Indian Decline in Honduras Under Spanish Rule by Linda Newson
• The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen
• Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
• The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
• Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan by John Lloyd Stephens
• Jungleland: A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure by Christopher S. Stewart
• Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice by Mark Plotkin