Please note this program has different ticket options. The member + book and nonmember + book price will include a signed copy of The Lost City of Z.

Percy Harrison Fawcett was considered “the last of the individualist explorers”—those who ventured into uncharted spots on the map with little more than a machete, a compass, and an almost-divine sense of purpose.

In April 1925, the 57-year-old British adventurer launched his final expedition into the depths of the Amazon in Brazil. His destination was the lost city of El Dorado, the legendary “City of Gold,” an ancient kingdom of great sophistication, riches, and culture. The idea of El Dorado had captivated anthropologists, explorers, and scientists for 400 years, though there was no evidence it ever existed. Hundreds of expeditions had gone looking for it, and thousands of men had perished in the jungles searching for it.

Fawcett proclaimed for decades his belief in the City of Z, as he had nicknamed it. He had barely survived several previous expeditions and was more determined than ever to find the fabled streets and temples of gold on this one, which was financed by the Royal Geographical Society. With his son and his son’s best friend, he ventured deep into the Brazilian jungle and was never heard from again. Over the years, many more explorers perished searching for Fawcett.

The evening’s speaker, writer David Grann was so compelled by the disappearance of Fawcett that he followed his path into the jungle, hoping to find some sign of his party or the legendary Z. His account of that journey, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, became an international bestseller and is slated to become a movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Fawcett.

Part of the Uncharted Territory: Great Expeditions and the Trailblazers Who Led Them program series.