A review by heatherbirchall
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

Brilliant find in a Free Library! I knew nothing at all about the Mayan civilization and I definitely know all I will ever need to now. The only disappointing thing perhaps is the the author often referred to the indigenous people in central and south American as "Indian". I also wanted to know the best places to see Mayan artifacts. Although a lot of what Catherwood and Stephens brought back were sadly destroyed in a fire, there must be plenty of other remains that ended up in museums. I also wondered if Catherwood felt threatened at all by photography. He was such an incredible artist but this new technology undoubtedly would have made him wonder if it was worth his while sketching for hours when he could take a picture, albeit one that was cumbersome and dangerous to make. Anyway, this was truly a great read - narrative nonfiction at its best.