In June of 1946, former OSS officer Colonel Leonard Clark arrived in Lima, Peru with $1000 – all that he owned – pinned inside his shirt pocket. His goal: to discover the gold of the legendary city El Dorado and the Seven Cities of Cibola. He arrived in South America with only a brief note of introduction to a Peruvian that claimed to know the gold’s location, but Clark, broke from bad investments in both the U.S. and China, was desperate to find the treasure. Warned that hundreds who have gone before him have never returned, Clark proceeded, using the “cover” that he was, in fact, in search of medical secrets from local indigenous healers. A dangerous trip would have been made all the more treacherous were his true intent discovered. Drawn by visions of El Dorado and a map he is certain will lead him to it, Clark headed into the unforgiving wilderness with barely enough provisions to sustain him, relying on his wartime experience in Asia, his wits, and “the grace of God” to see him through. Clark was joined on his journey by the redoubtable Jorge Mendoza, a twenty-four-year-old Peruvian graduate of Lima University, and the fearless Inez Pokorny, a mysterious, gutsy, and multilingual explorer. Along their perilous journey, they encountered headhunting tribes, man-eating jaguars, forty-foot-long anacondas, poisonous plants, and indigenous healers. Clark documented local flora and fauna, function and applications of medicinal herbs, and descriptions of the indigenous peoples and their languages. Remarkably, after six months in the jungle, Clark not only emerged alive, but claiming to have reached his illusive goal. This amazing adventure is documented in Clark’s riveting book, The Rivers Ran East. Long out of print, this story is once again available as part of the Travelers’ Tales Classics series. Originally published in 1953, The Rivers Ran East remains one of the greatest journeys ever recorded. It is a searing adventure story from one of the all-time great explorers and adventurers.