PARADISE OF THE DAMNED

An account of a famous explorer’s quixotic quest for an infamous “golden city.”

The lure of gold has driven many men crazy, never more so than in connection with the quest for El Dorado, the legendary Incan city that many believed was literally constructed from the precious metal. The Spanish launched scores of expeditions to find it as part of their conquest of the New World. Thomson, author of Born To Be Hanged, chronicles the less-well-known efforts of the British, led by Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). He was a junior court figure who won attention by laying his cloak down so Queen Elizabeth could cross a muddy puddle. He parlayed this chivalrous act into a fleet of ships, which he took to South America (although he was supposed to go to Virginia), with the aim of searching for the golden city. Readers will be unsurprised that the jungle adventure was plagued by crocodiles, snakes, mosquitos, vampire bats, and mutterings of mutiny; Raleigh was forced to turn back and return to England. However, he fell victim to the labyrinthine intrigues of the royal court and landed in prison, charged with treason. He ultimately lost his head. Though El Dorado has been a fascinating topic for centuries, it has already been covered in numerous books about Raleigh and the Age of Exploration, and Thomson adds only moderately to the historical record. The section at the heart of the book—Raleigh’s search for El Dorado—is a mildly interesting account of a meandering, misguided failure. Ultimately, this book may interest aficionados of this period of history, as well as those unfamiliar with the life of Raleigh, but others will not find much that is worth the effort.

A middling exploration of the turbulent life of Walter Raleigh, including his futile search for gold.