cover image Jungleland: A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure

Jungleland: A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure

Christopher S. Stewart. HarperCollins, $27.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-180254-6

In a modern-day quest to locate the fabled Lost City, Stewart, an editor at the Wall Street Journal and the author of Hunting the Tiger, takes the reader on a perilous, thrill-laden search for that mythical place, first bitten by the adventure bug in the spring of 2008 after researching the journals of American explorer and spy Theodore Morde. The journalist parallels his own quest to find the mysterious Ciudad Blanca, the White City, to the search by Morde, into a remote part of southeastern Honduras, with its jungle heat, harsh river trip, natives, and other dangers. While Morde’s vision of the White City turns out to be folklore, Stewart finds himself at odds with snakes, crocodiles, timber pirates, and a brewing civil war, which going farther into the bush as he questions himself about his mission. Possibly the book should have been about Morde and his various identities as WWII spy and bold explorer than the author’s expedition, which comes up with few results. Still, this is a gritty, remarkable tale of exploration and risk in a nervy trek to the edge of civilization. Agent: P.J. Mark. (Jan.)