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A review by geve_
Jungle of Stone: The True Story of Two Men, Their Extraordinary Journey, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the Maya by William Carlsen
4.0
Let me just say this: Thorough.
What I thought the book was gonna be about: The uncovering of previously forgotten or lost cities in Mexico and Central America with some Mayan history/culture for context.
What I got: Everyone's biography. A bunch of political history of central america and mexico during the time period. Financial troubles. Sailing and steaming. Publishing books. For some reason a lot of information about this one dude's divorce. The fact that the other dude's adult sister wasn't married, though unclear if his adult brother was married or not, wasn't mentioned with as much emphasis for some reason.
So, although it didn't meet my expectations, this was still pretty good. I wanted a lot more Mayan history, but I actually did enjoy the modern central american and mexican histories, of which I knew very little about during that time frame (early-mid 1800s). As expected, the story was obviously more about these two guys getting to go on an adventure than about the ruins themselves, and that kinda tracks with the characters involved, given that one of them was famous for writing about his travel adventures.
This felt a bit like a reference, which I liked. I would refer back to this, certain chapters at least.
Overall, a pretty good read. Tons of information, perhaps a bit dry, but very detailed. May have strayed a bit further into biography territory than I personally like, but I forgive. Now I want to read some actual Mayan histories. Would recommend to people who love extremely dry detailed histories. Would not recommend for anyone looking for narrative adventure non-fiction.
What I thought the book was gonna be about: The uncovering of previously forgotten or lost cities in Mexico and Central America with some Mayan history/culture for context.
What I got: Everyone's biography. A bunch of political history of central america and mexico during the time period. Financial troubles. Sailing and steaming. Publishing books. For some reason a lot of information about this one dude's divorce. The fact that the other dude's adult sister wasn't married, though unclear if his adult brother was married or not, wasn't mentioned with as much emphasis for some reason.
So, although it didn't meet my expectations, this was still pretty good. I wanted a lot more Mayan history, but I actually did enjoy the modern central american and mexican histories, of which I knew very little about during that time frame (early-mid 1800s). As expected, the story was obviously more about these two guys getting to go on an adventure than about the ruins themselves, and that kinda tracks with the characters involved, given that one of them was famous for writing about his travel adventures.
This felt a bit like a reference, which I liked. I would refer back to this, certain chapters at least.
Overall, a pretty good read. Tons of information, perhaps a bit dry, but very detailed. May have strayed a bit further into biography territory than I personally like, but I forgive. Now I want to read some actual Mayan histories. Would recommend to people who love extremely dry detailed histories. Would not recommend for anyone looking for narrative adventure non-fiction.