Tom Weinberg has written an incredible book called “Chasing the Lost City: Chronicles of Discovery in Honduras”. This weekend it got the attention of the great Rick Kogan, who comibined Tom’s book and another book by Chicago legend Bruce Elliot (owner of the Old Town Ale House) into his column. You can read the entire column here.
Below are a few excerpts about Tom’s book…
Tom Weinberg, longtime and pioneering videographer, gives us “Chasing the Lost City: Chronicles of Discovery in Honduras” (Eckhartz Press), a lavishly illustrated and compelling tale of his more than 20-year obsession (his word) with and journeys to, as he writes, “one of the wildest and most dense spots anywhere in the Americas.”
Weinberg was born and raised in Highland Park, where as a child he loved “tromping through the ravines” near his home. Elliott was born and raised in Downers Grove, which he ever refers to as “Uppers Grove.” Though both have spent most of their lives in Chicago, their paths have crossed only a couple of times, and those in recent years. They likely have some friends in common and both certainly knew (Weinberg knew very well) the author-radio host Studs Terkel who, in his fashion, gave them each a philosophical life road map when he said that he wanted his own epitaph to read, “Curiosity did not kill this cat.”
As Weinberg writes, “For me, the driving force in the exploration wasn’t so much the buried objects that might be in the jungle… (It was) the tingle, the drive, the thing that has always taken over whatever else I was doing … the gut need to go and experience what it feels like to be in an unknown place on the earth, no matter how big or small.”
Weinberg’s book is detailed and evocative, a grand adventure tale that has already received some serious praise. Preston calls it “gripping, frightening and sometimes humorous” and that it is. It makes for compelling and enlightening reading. For Weinberg it represents something more: “(This) was the personal adventure of a lifetime — with major impact on my mind and body — unprecedented and indelible. It brought out the best of my abilities and my most vulnerable feeling.”
Previously Robert Feder of the Daily Herald wrote about Tom’s great book…
Tom Weinberg, the veteran Chicago producer who created “Image Union” and founded the Media Burn Independent Video Archive, has a new book out about his life’s greatest adventure. Chasing the Lost City: Chronicles of Discovery in Honduras is a first-person account of the expedition in search of the Lost City of the Monkey God hidden deep in the dense Central American jungle. It’s a miracle that he and his companions endured and overcame the incredible challenges they faced. And it’s a pleasure that he shares their story with such honesty and insight. Weinberg will celebrate the publication with friends October 17 at Billy Goat Tavern, 430 North Michigan Avenue. Published by Chicago-based Eckhartz Press and featuring more than 180 stunning photos, the book is available at chasingthelostcity.com.
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