 Recommended Reading for the Contemplative Traveler
I am planning a trip to Cuzco and Macchu Picchu Peru this July and find this book very informative, well documented, but also very readable. It was recommended reading by the company sponsoring my trip. Since I will be hiking the Inca trail for part of my tour, this seemed a good way to capture the history that will be surrounding me. The book provides detailed maps, glossory of Peruvian words and footnotes on historical events...all very good. The book maps' print is very tiny...so you may want to purchase a much larger contemporary and/or historical map of Peru. Pronunciation hints of the unfathomable Inca names would help too.
 Inca Civilization info
Before leaving for our Peru/Ecuador trip, I wanted to review/learn more about the Incas than I can remember from school days. It is a well written book and does not feel as though you are in a history class. Good reading, but long.
Great, grim, gripping work of history
The fall of the Inca empire is one of the most remarkable stories in history, with great characters, amazing deeds, and epic cruelty and splendor. It was also a fantastically important event, because the enormous wealth Spain found in the Andes allowed it to create the first truly global empire, and ultimately provided Europe with the funds that allowed it to dominate the world.
In the 19th century, William Prescott wrote a marvelously stentorian account of the conquest that stood unrivaled for a century. Only in 1970 did Hemming, who subsequently became one of this century's great explorers and activists, produce a history of the conquest that took into account many decades of new knowledge. Immensely readable, thoroughly documented, richly detailed, this book became the new standard -- emphasizing, as Prescott did not, that the conquest was not a matter of simply seizing the emperor, and that the Spaniards were battling determined Inca armies for more than 40 years.
In addition to being the long-time director of the Royal Geographic Society, Hemming wrote a 3-volume history of the Indians of Amazonia and co-founded Survival International, which campaigns for the rights of indigenous peoples. As one would expect, the Conquest of the Incas gives as much attention to indigenous people as Europeans and focuses on Spanish treatment of Indians. He is severely critical, but always fair. This book should be read -- and, I believe, will be enjoyed -- by almost anyone who travels to Latin America, who would like to find out more about the founding events of the modern world, or simply likes to read good history.
One suggestion: Hemming thoroughly revised and updated this book a few years ago, improving an already remarkable book. Unfortunately, his US publishers have not released the updated edition -- the version on this web page is the original, from the early 1970s. If you have the time, you should buy the updated edition from Amazon's British website:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conquest-Incas-John-Hemming/dp/033042730X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250003136&sr=1-1
Still one of the best analyses of the Conquest of Peru
A must read for anybody interested in one of the most amazing events in world history. I recommend reading the book before and (especially) after traveling to Peru. The key battles and turning points of the conquest are analyzed from both the viewpoint of the Spaniards and the Incas.
The best history of the Incas
The Incas and the conquest of Peru are two of the most interesting stories in latin American history. This book captures the whole of that story and in wonderful detail relates the invasion of Pizzaro and the fall of the Incas. From Manco Inca to Tuti Cosi the Inca rebellions raged against Spanish occupation and eventually resulted in the free Inca state of Villacamba. In the end this state was doomed to fall to Spanish greed but the attempts at the Incas to preserve sovereignty is impressive. The writing style is excellent and the book is a very quick read. If you want to get a start on learning about the Inca's there is not a better book out there. If you are starting a study of South America as a whole this is an essential addition to that library. Highly recommend.
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