Quest for the Lost City: A True Life Adventure [Paperback]

Dana Lamb (Author), Ginger Lamb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1984

In 1937 Dana & Ginger Lamb set out from Tucson, Arizona and ended up in the unexplored jungles of Chiapas and Guatemala. Traveling mostly by foot, but also by horseback, canoe, a patched-together 2-seat plane, and by a burro-powered Model-T Ford, the Lambs trekked into a world of bugs, bandits, and lost civilizations. They discovered a lost tribe of Mayans and ultimately a lost city in the jungle. Exciting and true!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Quest for the Lost City is an absorbing book -- a sort of overland 'Kon-Tiki.' The Lambs do have a story..." -- New York Times

"They were in search of the fabled 'golden library' of the Maya, and they may well have found it..." -- St. Petersburg Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Santa Barbara Pr (July 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915643006
• ISBN-13: 978-0915643004
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,563,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Guatemala

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the ultimate backpacking/hiking adventure!, January 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Quest for the Lost City: A True Life Adventure (Paperback)

If you think you are ready to backpack through the wilds of anywhere, read this book first! This couple walked from California to the jungles of Mexico, encountered banditos, bugs and fascinating people along the way. The Mayan ruins they stumbled upon probably still haven't been found... The book was written in the early 50's, so don't expect an adventure with the latest conveniences, but rather one based on wits, humor, compassion - and a lot of guts! Absolutely wonderful!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost City Found, April 11, 2004

By 

Gary Davidson (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quest for the Lost City: A True Life Adventure (Paperback)

"Quest for the Lost City" is a follow up to the equally extraordinary "Enchanted Vagabonds" published in 1938. The fact that these two books are still in print today is a testament to both the spellbinding writing style, and true adventurous spirit of the husband and wife writing/exploring/filmmaking team of Dana and Ginger Lamb. Throw away your "Indiana Jones" DVDs, these two are the real deal. Traveling by foot, horseback, dugout canoe, Model-T Ford, jeep, and airplane the Lambs traveled down the western edge of Mexico, crossing the Sonora Desert into the jungles of Chiapas. Ten years after they began their quest, years beset with hardships, frustration, and danger, they finally found their lost city. Along the way, they met a band of friendly bandits, an army of ants, a hermit, and a lost tribe of the Mayans. The Lambs' claim of finding a lost Mayan city deep in the Mexican jungle was discounted by well-known Mayan experts in their time, but today evidence by less biased experts supports the claim that the lost city they found and named "Laxtunich" still lies undiscovered in the jungle somewhere waiting to be discovered. "Quest for the Lost City" is nothing less than one of the greatest adventure stories of modern times.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bogus Quest for the Lost City, December 3, 2003

By 

D. Shreve (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quest for the Lost City: A True Life Adventure (Paperback)

The only aspect of this book that is not outrageous fiction is that the Lambs did really get to an actual Maya site that cannot now be located. However, that is because they never anywhere gave any idea of where anyone could find it.

The stela the Lambs captured in photo proves that there was such a site and it was probably from a subsidiary of Yaxchilan. The two smaller buildings they show are probably also from the same site.

The large building the Lambs show in the book looks very much like Temple 33 at Yaxchilan, but they did not claim that it was part of their find. They merely implied it.

There is a copy of the book at archaeologist Frans Blom's library at Na Bolom and in it are two reviews by him. The longer one suggests that he had not spent enough time trashing the book the first time.

There is some value in owning this book for those intrigued with cities that are still lost in jungles. You just have to be aware that there is a lot of BS in it.