From Booklist
Reminiscent of Turn Right at Machu Picchu, by Mark Adams (2011), in which a New York journalist experienced all manner of mishap and misery while trekking to a remote pre-Columbian city, Stewart’s chronicle relates his 2008 odyssey to Honduras. He sought a place of rumored existence called the White City, with which he became obsessed upon learning that, in 1940, colorful adventurer Theodore Morde announced its discovery, though he kept proprietarily circumspect about its exact location. Morde then became an OSS agent but never returned to Honduras. With the assistance of Morde’s journal, an experienced American archaeologist, and local Honduran guides, Stewart sallied forth for the tropical forest where lurked the White City. Rutted roads, torrential rivers, and steep mountains interposed, battering the author’s confidence in carrying on, but the narrative must, and he did, reaching in a state of exhaustion a site that might or might not have been the White City. Wryly self-critical, Stewart entertains vicarious explorers about a journey that was better in the abstract than in actuality. --Gilbert Taylor
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“A fascinating and gripping account, a true to life Indiana Jones adventure.” (Douglas Preston)
“This stunning book takes you deep into the jungles of Honduras, telling a story that explains all of Europe’s adventures on this side of the world: the quest for a lost city full of gold, a search that, in theend, reveals the treasure to be the journey itself. ” (Rich Cohen)
“A bold attempt to solve the mystery of the White City of Honduras and finish the work of a World War II spy.… a rip-snorting journey… Readers who loved ‘The Lost City of Z’ have found their next great true adventure.” (Mitchell Zuckoff)
“A tale for the ages.” (Mark Adams)
“I dare you to put this book down.” (Evan Wright)
“A great revival of an older genre, the treasure hunt, and associated adventures.” (Kirkus)
“The premise is so fantastic that if
Jungleland were a novel, you could be forgiven for worrying that it might be a bit pulpy or clichéd…The fact that this is all true turns the story from one of intrigue and odyssey into one of anthropological significance as well.” (Daily Beast)
“The true story [of]
Jungleland resembles nothing so much as the set-up for one of H. Rider Haggard’s old pulp adventure novels.…Stewart is a crisp, lean, colorful stylist, with that essential knack: a nose for punchy, telling anecdotes and images…great fun to read.” (Laura Miller, Salon)
“[T]his is a gritty, remarkable tale of exploration and risk in a nervy trek to the edge of civilization.” (Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review))
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