The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster

	Title: The Last Days of the Incas Purchase Item Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster List Price: $30.00 Our Price: $8.64
Customer Reviews:
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster The Last Days of the Incas - Great Storytelling
Last summer, my brother and I took our sons on a hiking trip on the Camino Inka to Machu Picchu. It was an incredible journey and fulfilled one long-standing item on my "bucket list." I had read several books about the Incas and Machu Picchu in preparation for our hike, including Bingham's book, because I have been fascinated with the ancient South American cultures since I was a kid. I knew that much of the information in the books that I had previously read over the last 40 years was dated, and that some of the old theories had been disproven over time - but I didn't have the time to sort things out before our trip. As a gift after our return, my brother gave me a copy of The Last Days of the Incas. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a great read - and is great story telling. It was especially interesting to me after having visited many of the locations in the story. Of course, many parts of the story were very painful to read, because of the many examples of severe brutality and greed, but the book pulled together the big picture of the story for me, and helped complete some of the missing pieces in my scattered and dated readings, and what I had learned during our trip. I really can't imagine the time and effort needed - and painstaking collection of details - to piece together this complex story from so long ago. And as the author mentioned, many of the sources are suspect and likely biased. The author was very forthright about the gaps and conflicts in the historical record, and provided his justification for his intrepretation - which I appreciated since it seems many "experts" truly believe that they know what really happened. But that is part of the great mystery - so much of what happened we will really never know what happened.
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster Great reading for fans of well-written history!
The Last Days of the Incas is one of the best books I've read about the Incan dynasty - and I've read a lot. Most books on the subject have been dry, historical accounts occasionally peppered with an interesting detail about daily life. However, MacQuarrie's book breathes life into this entire period. The narrative moves the story along like fiction (though it is meticulously researched history) and it is filled with amazing details of both the Spaniards and Incas that make the book a fascinating read. Examples of such a detail: Potatoes were a staple of the Incan diet - as were guinea pigs- and during the time of the Incas there were over 5000 varieties of potatoes in this region of South American. I live in Ecuador and it is fascinating to see that to this day the people still eat guinea pig (they call it cuy - and now they eat chicken too) - and a trip to the market will reveal at least a few hundred of the thousands of types of potatoes still available. As to the "unbelievable" facts and/or inconsistencies that other have noted in their reviews: I can say that these are possible - but so is the book's account. As with many lost cultures, the truth of what transpired can be difficult to determine. But truth can be stranger than fiction and this book presents the best evidence of the last days of the Incas.
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster Fantastic book!!!
Wonderful story-telling of Peru awaits the reader of this book. Last Days of the Incas is a magnificent account of the Incas, their clash with the Spaniards, and the "discovery" of their ancient sites. MacQuarrie gives a compelling summary of modern archaeological and anthropological insights into this period, woven around a marvelous collection of original and secondhand sources. The story is well told. Sixteenth Century personalities like Atahualpa, Manco Inca, Francisco Pizarro and his brothers, and Diego de Almagro come to life in this work.
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster The Most Comprehensive Inca Book
As a person who traveled to Peru and walked the Inca Trail I was completely satisfied with the descriptions of ruins, roads, and the Inca culture highlighted throughout this book. Independent of whether you have or have not walked the trail or visited any Inca ruins, if you are remotely interested in this South American culture and peoples this is THE book to buy. I did some research prior to taking the trip and it was so very scattered and unclear, I wish I had this book then. Beyond the historical context of the book it reads like a novel. I couldn't wait to turn the page. I'm sure some will have qualms with the lack of maps and perhaps some inferences drawn by the author. Nevertheless, this is an amazing read!
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster Historical Adventure
If you are about to travel to Peru, or if you have an interest in South American history, this book is a must read. Once you start reading 'The Last Days of the Incas,' you will find it extremely difficult to put it down. For in this book, the adage of fact being stranger than fiction, definitely holds true. You will read about grievious leadership errors, brutal battle scenes, and devious treachery. You will learn how just 167 Spaniards were able to destroy an empire and change the course of history. If you are into adventure and want to learn about the recent history of the great nation of Peru, then I recommend reading this book at once.
The Last Days of the Incas by Simon & Schuster Product Description
In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed -- due largely to their horses, their steel armor and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cuzco, completing their conquest of the largest native empire the New World has ever known. Peru was now a Spanish colony, and the conquistadors were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Inca emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, inflicting heavy casualties and nearly wiping out the conquerors. Eventually, however, Pizarro and his men forced the emperor to abandon the Andes and flee to the Amazon. There, he established a hidden capital, called Vilcabamba. Although the Incas fought a deadly, thirty-six-year-long guerrilla war, the Spanish ultimately captured the last Inca emperor and vanquished the native resistance. Kim MacQuarrie lived in Peru for five years and became fascinated by the Incas and the history of the Spanish conquest. Drawing on both native and Spanish chronicles, he vividly describes the dramatic story of the conquest, with all its savagery and suspense. MacQuarrie also relates the story of the modern search for Vilcabamba, of how Machu Picchu was discovered, and of how a trio of colorful American explorers only recently discovered the lost Inca capital of Vilcabamba, hidden for centuries in the Amazon. This authoritative, exciting history is among the most powerful and important accounts of the culture of the South American Indians and the Spanish Conquest.