Posts Tagged: David Grann
Things to Read
4

That David Grann Story's Got It All

| May 24th, 2012

"Morgan handed Cherne a 1946 five-centavo coin. Its edge had a small notch. If Cherne wanted to send someone to see him in the future, he should give that person the coin for presentation to Morgan—a sign of trustworthiness." —If you have been wondering whether or not to invest the time it takes to read all 21,563 words of David Grann's article in this week's New Yorker about William Alexander Morgan, the Toledo, Ohio-born Cuban revolutionary known as "El Americano," I encourage you to do so. (Subscription NOT required to read it through that link.) I finished it this morning and it is fascinating and thrilling and heartbreaking. The [...]

It's Science!
12

Did They Find Atlantis?

| March 14th, 2011

In a strange coincidence of timing, considering the horrible news and footage coming out of Japan over the past three days, an international team of scientists working in south Spain believe they have pinpointed the location of the city of Atlantis. This is a major big deal in archeology. Plato wrote about Atlantis in 360 B.C. It was said to have been an engineering marvel located near the "Pillars of Hercules" (as the Straits of Gibralter were called back then), that it was built around an island temple to Poseidon which was surrounded by concentric rings of water and land, like a bulls-eye, and that it was "swallowed up [...]

11

"Trial By Fire"

| September 1st, 2009

David Grann's "Trial By Fire" in the current New Yorker is extremely long, extremely grim, and extremely powerful. I'm not going to pull anything out or even describe it much beyond saying that it tells the story of an innocent man who was put to death in Texas. But I will tell you that it is profoundly affecting and you should take some time to read it.

The Borough of Trees
36

Brooklyn Is Everything They Say It Is

| July 12th, 2011

I moved to Brooklyn this past weekend. And now that I’m somewhat recovered from the experience of moving—which is, as most everyone I talked to about it correctly pointed out, “the worst”—I’ve been acclimating myself to my new surroundings. I’ve never lived here before. So far, I’ve been impressed by the extent to which my initial impression jibes with what Guru said back in 1994: Brooklyn really is like a whole different planet.

First of all, it is very, very hot in Brooklyn. I don’t know if it’s because it’s farther to the East, and so therefore closer to the sun when it rises or something, but, man! It [...]

42

So There Was A Highly Advanced Civilization In The Amazon After All

| January 7th, 2010

So Colonel Percy Fawcett has been vindicated. The British explorer, who David Grann wrote about in the wonderful book The Lost City of Z, was last seen in 1925, trudging off into the jungles of the Amazon basin, searching for evidence to support his belief that a vast civilization had once populated the area-the fabled city of gold, perhaps, El Dorado. In the years since, the prevailing opinion has been that he was following a pipe dream, that the harsh physical conditions of the basin have always precluded mass inhabitation.

Dave Bry's Mid-Day Repasts
10

What You Should Eat For Lunch Today

| March 31st, 2011

Here's a suggestion for lunch: Go to the Meatball Shop on Stanton Street and Allen Street on the Lower East Side. (If you don't live in New York City, leave now, and you can make it for tomorrow's lunch.) Go alone, as the place is very popular and there will be a line out the door (even at lunchtime!) waiting for tables of two or four, but single patrons can slip onto an open stool between two other people at the bar. Bring something to read—this week's New Yorker magazine is good—as the servers will be busy and take a little while to get to you. When they [...]

23

Cameron Todd Willingham's Real Last Words

| December 8th, 2009

I recently finished The Lost City of Z, David Grann's account of the British explorer Percy Fawcett's final journey in the Amazon basin, where Fawcett disappeared in 1925. Meticulously researched, staunchly reported and beautifully written, it covers the history of London's Royal Geographic Society, to which Percy belonged, and the 300-year quest for the mythical golden city, El Dorado, as well as the rubber trade and its effect on indigenous tribes who shoot six-foot arrows from seven-foot bows. And piranha, and electric eels and anacondas and poisonous insects that attack your eyes and maggots that fester under your skin and toothpick-sized parasite catfish that swim up your penis through [...]