Lost Trails, Lost Cities
by . Funk & Wagnalls, $5.00.
When Colonel Fawcett disappeared into the South American jungle for the last time, he left the manuscript of this book behind him. His family withheld its publication in the hope that he would return to finish it, but since that seems unlikely now, the book has been released, edited and with an epilogue by the author’s son, Brian Fawcett.
The colonel was an explorer in the fine romantic tradition, independent and resourceful, with a love of old legends and travelers’ tales. His belief in the lost cities of South American myth must have been partly sheer love of the dramatic. It would have been so suitable for them to exist and, after all, considering Schliemann at Hissarlik, why not? His book describes his hectic early days as a surveyor, his later explorations, colleagues, hunting experiences, meetings with Indians, and experiments with spiritualism. The colonel emerges as a rather odd, decidedly likable man, and his narrative combines the practical detail of exploring primitive country with a fairy-tale quality that is unusual and beguiling.