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The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland

The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland

List Price: $27.95
Your Price: $18.45
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Overview of the Incas, and what we think we know about them
Review: Reviewers have noted Thomson's strengths and occasional lapses. I read this after "At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig," John Gimlette's comparable Paraguayan travelogue, and both books feature young British who find themselves returning to a land they happened upon in their youth (circa early 1980s?) in decades since, contrasting the changes and recording that which endures. Thomson's account avoids Gimlette's overwritten prose, but its own lack of adornment may fail to keep all readers excited. He eschews New Age dippiness or "us vs. them" cute encounters for a more workaday narrative. He tells what he saw, who saw it earlier, and what we know about it--given the wide lack of hard evidence. He always relies on the locals, has an admirably nimble way with translating his excellent Spanish as he conveys his conversations with them, and avoids stereotypes on all sides--except for those ubiqitous German tourists we've all encountered ahead of the rest of us in the most remote places!

I wish he had invigorated his account a bit more with less recapitulation of his own often humdrum reactions, but he does this to counter the often romanticised visions of Hiram Bingham, Victor van Hagen, and many others who have explored the terrain before him--and not always as thoroughly as he has. The encounter with the titular White Rock, for example, is nearly subdued, but it sets off the mystery better than purple prose.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: engrossing, informative, and immensely readable
Review: this is an engrossing book that combines the writers own exploration and travel with the history of inca exploration of explorers who went before him, while telling the stories of inca history and culture along the way.

hugh thomson has the dry wit often associated with british travel writers, and his book is detailed and academic and still completely accessible.

conquistadors, incas, hiram bingham, martin chambi, machu pichu, explorers, pre-columbian cultures, lost maps, machetes, snakes, butterflies, ruins, beer, huayno, the heady drug of exploration - this book has it all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inca Past, Explorations Past, Explorations Present
Review: Where does an explorer go these days? There is no more "terra incognita" on the maps, and ballooning, sailing, or crossing Antarctica are often reduced to webcasted stunts. If you long to go through jungle, battling snakes and mosquitoes, to find previously undiscovered ancient sites, Hugh Thomson can tell you were to go: Peru. In fact, twenty years ago, he was working in a pub, and a drinker there told him a story involving an Inca fortress that had been discovered, but was so poorly documented, it had gotten lost again. "Not only was it a glamorous idea, it was, unlike most of those told in the pub, a true story." Finding that ruin seemed more attractive than continuing to tend bar: "I had nothing to lose. So I went." This is the start of the story of Thomson's _The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland_ (Overlook Press). It is no surprise that in this lively and intelligent exploration memoir, Thomson does re-discover the re-lost archeological site, but it is surprising that this is only the first part of the book, not the climax. By the time the book has finished, he has hiked to many lost cities in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, and reviewed the remarkably complicated Inca history all along the way.

Of course the book is full of recountings of mistakes and scares, from embarrassingly split pants to humorous misunderstandings between the gringos and the natives (including a young girl who precipitously falls in love with the author). This is not a how-to manual, but those preparing to explore the area would do well to heed Thomson's words on snakes, guinea pigs, gnats, pack mules, and especially, guides. Much of the book is not just a history of the Incas, but a history of exploration of Inca sites. There are fine summary portraits here of an assortment of strange characters who have trekked some of these paths before Thomson. A prime one was Hiram Bingham, the discoverer of Machu Picchu, who thought erroneously that it was a religious monument to the Virgins of the Sun. This has sparked a lot of New Age nonsense. It was a winter camp for the Inca court, and Thomson's own view of the exalted position of Machu Picchu is simply that the Incas had a fondness, just as we do, for magnificent mountain views.

Thomson's exhilarating and self-deprecatingly humorous account of his own travels vies with the ancient history and modern history revealed here. All are expertly told. Thomson follows a trail of Inca history to the almost forgotten site of Vilcabamba, still unexcavated and obscured by thick vegetation. It was the last remnant of the great Inca Empire. Digressions of descriptions of the modern towns he goes through, and a welcome appreciation of the great Cuzco photographer Martin Chambi, are easy bypaths on the way. The book has excellent maps, a glossary of terms from the Spanish and the local Quechua language, and an genealogical chart of the Inca emperors. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book to put our currently fashionable fascination with Inca sites in a realistic context.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great read and great fun.
Review: While planning a trip to Peru, I bought a copy of Thomson's book to get a different spin on the place than that offered by the typical guides and histories. I am delighted that I did. Thomson's witty writing stays away from overly PC sentimentality while still demonstrating a deep respect for the culture and the people of the Andes. Thomson also avoids dry academic discourse and gives the reader some insight into the vibrancy of Andean culture and the richness of its history. Although the book will not tell you what hotels to stay in or what time the train leaves for Machu Picchu, I highly recommend it for anyone considering a trip to the region.


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