Synopses & Reviews
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. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; 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. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; 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. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; This authoritative, exciting history is among the most powerful and important accounts of the culture of the South American Indians and the Spanish Conquest.
Review
The Incas were members of the group of Quechuan peoples of Peru, who established an empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile before the Spanish conquest. MacQuarrie reminds his readers that nearly 500 years ago, 168 Spaniards arrived in what is now Peru and collided with an Incan empire of 10 million people. The author, who lived in Peru for five years, chronicles the adventures of Hiram Bingham, who, in 1911, discovered Machu Picchu and believed it was the Incan capital. MacQuarrie also recounts the search by Gene Savoy, the American explorer who found Vicabamba, the true capital. He describes the adventures of other conquistadors and puppet kings, the rebellion of 1535, and other military attempts to conquer the Indians. MacQuarrie, a four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, researched Spanish and Incan chronicles. The result is a first-rate reference work of ambitious scope that will most likely stand as the definitive account of these people. George Cohen, Booklist
Review
"This is a wonderful book about one of the most epic struggles of history, a conquest that transformed a continent." Wade Davis, Anthropologist and Explorer-in-Residence National Geographic Society, and author of One River
Review
"A colorful, superbly crafted historical narrative that masterfully demonstrates that when cultures collide, unforeseen and tragic consequences follow.... also a memorable adventure story, revealing the modern Indiana Jones-type characters that unearthed, and continue to discover, lost parts of the Inca Empire. Last Days of the Incas is historical writing at its best." Broughton Coburn, author of Everest: Mountain Without Mercy
Review
"The Last Days of the Incas surprises, delivers history, and reads like a great yarn. I've read yards of books on the Incas, but this one took me out of the classroom and into that long-lost world." Keith Bellows, Editor in Chief, National Geographic Traveler
Review
"The story of the European conquest of the fascinating and fabulously rich empire of the Incas is one of history's most engaging and tragic episodes...Thanks to The Last Days of the Incas, Kim MacQuarrie's superbly written new treatment of the subject, it is now accessible to the much broader audience it deserves." Vincent Lee, author of Forgotten Vilcabamba
Review
"A welcome addition to the literature...lively and dramatic."
Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
Review
"Vivid...engergetic...fascinating...riveting."
Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review
Review
"Thrillingly informative...narrative gold."
Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Thoroughly and entertainingly recounted...MacQuarrie excels."
Forbes Magazine
Table of Contents
Contents
Chronology of Events
Preface
1. The Discovery
2. A Few Hundred Well-Armed Entrepreneurs
3. Supernova of the Andes
4. When Empires Collide
5. A Roomful of Gold
6. Requiem for a King
7. The Puppet King
8. Prelude to a Rebellion
9. The Great Rebellion
10. Death in the Andes
11. The Return of the One-Eyed Conqueror
12. In the Realm of the Antis
13. Vilcabamba: Guerrilla Capital of the World
14. The Last of the Pizarros
15. The Incas' Last Stand
16. The Search for the "Lost City" of the Incas
17. Vilcabamba Rediscovered
Epilogue: Machu Picchu, Vilcabamba, and the Search for the Lost Cities of the Andes
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index