But despite the dissimilarities in outlookin addition to the differences in accessibility, there are also very different anthropological approaches employed now than there were some generations ago, when phrenology and enthographic ranking were the stuff du jourboth of these groups are fuelled by a lust for adventure and for discovery. The Lost City of Z is a tale of then and now: of the bright-eyed adventurers of generations ago seeking out the unknown and the unencountered compared with our adventurers of today, whose efforts feel somehow less grandiose in their absence of hardship. Indeed, Grann sheepishly notes that the route that took Fawcett and his men a month to traverse, with several fatalities along the way, takes Grann and his tour guide two days. Where adventurous types like Fawcett signed up for survival courses at the Royal Geographical Society, begged for loans to support their exploratory habits, and quite literally risked their lives by heading off into those areas of the map marked with here there be dragons, todays explorers have access to wicking socks, GPS systems, satellite mapping, antibiotics and air-conditioned vehicles. Its true, muses Grann, as he GoogleMaps his forthcoming expedition and heads off to a specialty camping and outdoors shop to get set up with all of the latest in fancy explorer gear. I envy my great-grandfather, really, says Fawcetts granddaughter when author Grann explains to her his interest in retracing Fawcetts footsteps.'In his day, you could still go marching off and discover some hidden part of the world. Un-contacted societies, possible ancient ruins and accompanying riches, and perhaps most appealing of all, an utterly alien landscape. In this vast area lurk all manner of unknowns. There are myriad reasons why one might set out into the dangerous depths of the Amazon. In fact, expeditions to'retrace the explorers footsteps became so commonplace at one point that the Brazilian government issued a degree banning unless they received special permission.
Not that this has dampened public interest in the Fawcett mystery. No one knows exactly what happened to Fawcett and his team, but many have died trying to find out. But Granns newest biographical obsession is a dangerous chap to idolise: Percy Harrison Fawcett was an Indiana Jones-esque adventurer who made his name trekking about the Amazonian jungle in search of the lost city of El Dorado. David Grann is the authorial equivalent of the method actor, living the lives of his subjects to the extent that he often becomes obsessed with them.
0 kommentar(er)
