David Grann
Explorer Percy Fawcett vanished in the Amazon in 1925 searching for a mythical city, sparking a century-long mystery that modern archaeology is only now resolving by uncovering vast, complex pre-Columbian settlements.
The Amazon jungle was long dismissed by experts as a counterfeit paradise incapable of sustaining large populations due to poor soil and intense environmental hurdles.
Percy Fawcett defied this scientific consensus by hypothesizing an advanced ancient civilization called Z, though his theories were heavily distorted by his belief in occult spiritualism.
The legend of Z functions as a dangerous non-falsifiable hypothesis, where every failed expedition only deepened the obsessive conviction that the hidden city simply remained undiscovered.