The Conquest of the Incas - Softcover

Hemming, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156028263 ISBN 13: 9780156028264

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2003

Synopsis

John Hemming's masterly and highly acclaimed account is a must-read book for anyone considering a trip to Peru or wanting to know more about the final days of the Inca empire.

From the first small band of Spanish adventurers to enter the mighty Inca empire to the execution of the last Inca forty years later, it is the story of bloodshed, infamy, rebellion, and extermination, told as convincingly as if it happened yesterday.

It also tells the social impact of the conquest on ordinary Peruvians forced to work for Spanish masters or in hellish silver and mercury mines, on changes to religion and government, and how survivors of the Inca elite reacted to the new order.

"The Conquest of the Incas is an extraordinary book. In it, rigorous historical research and profound analysis combine with stylistic elegance to produce a work that conveys to us, in all its richness and diversity, the tragic and fabulous history of the Inca realm; and it is as delightful to read as the best novels."—Mario Vargas Lllosa, Peruvian, Nobel Laureate in Literature

“Distinguished by an extraordinary empathy, a feeling of one’s way into the minds of the sixteenth-century Spaniards and Indians . . . Provocative.”—New York Times

About this title

About the Author

John Hemming was Director of the Royal Geographic Society in London from 1975 to 1996. He has travelled throughout Peru and much of Amazonia on a series of surveying and environmental research expeditions, often in unexplored forests. He has probably visited more indigenous tribes than any other non-Brazilian, including four at the time of their first contact. In addition to The Conquest of the Incas, his sixteen books include Monuments of the Incas, The Search for El Dorado, a three-volume history of Brazil’s indigenous peoples (Red Gold, Amazon Frontier, Die If You Must) and Tree of Rivers. For this work, Peru honored him with the El Sol del Perú award and the grand cross of the Order of Merit; Brazil gave him the Order of the Southern Cross; and Britain, the Order of St Michael and St George. He has a D. Litt doctorate from Oxford, and other honorary doctorates and fellowships. John Hemming is also chairman of a company publishing trade magazines and organizing trade exhibitions, and a trustee of various charities.

From the Back Cover

Winner of the Christopher Award

"Distinguished by an extraordinary empathy, a feeling of one's way into the minds of the 16th-century Spaniards and Indians ... A provocative book." -The New York Times

Praised as the finest account of the annihilation of the Incan empire since W.H. Prescott's History of the Conquest of Peru, this compelling, authoritative account removes the Incas from the realm of prehistory and legend and shows the reality of their struggle against the Spanish invasion. Drawing on rediscovered sources and a firsthand knowledge of the Incan terrain, Hemming vividly describes postconquest Peru and the integration of the Incas into the Spanish society, refuting many misconceptions about the decline of the Incan empire.

With maps, line drawings, and 24 pages of photography

John Hemming has written extensively for both popular and academic audiences about South American history. A writer, explorer, and anthropologist, he is a member of the Royal Geographic Society and has traveled extensively in all continents, crossing the Sahara and Syrian deserts and taking part in a major exploration of a previously unknown part of Brazil.

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Winner of the Christopher Award

"Distinguished by an extraordinary empathy, a feeling of one's way into the minds of the 16th-century Spaniards and Indians ... A provocative book." -The New York Times

Praised as the finest account of the annihilation of the Incan empire since W.H. Prescott's History of the Conquest of Peru, this compelling, authoritative account removes the Incas from the realm of prehistory and legend and shows the reality of their struggle against the Spanish invasion. Drawing on rediscovered sources and a firsthand knowledge of the Incan terrain, Hemming vividly describes postconquest Peru and the integration of the Incas into the Spanish society, refuting many misconceptions about the decline of the Incan empire.

With maps, line drawings, and 24 pages of photography

John Hemming has written extensively for both popular and academic audiences about South American history. A writer, explorer, and anthropologist, he is a member of the Royal Geographic Society and has traveled extensively in all continents, crossing the Sahara and Syrian deserts and taking part in a major exploration of a previously unknown part of Brazil.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0156028263
• ISBN 13: 9780156028264
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 624