The Conquest of the Incas

Rating:
Summary: Gripping account of an unequal struggle between peoples
Review: Conquest of the Incas is a great book for learning about the history of the Spanish conquest of a massive empire. The author is very thorough with respect to the actual conquest, but should have filled in more detail at the beginning of process. By page 100 the Incan empire had essentially fallen to the Spaniards. Surely more occured that is note worthy. This aside, the only other fault is the style in which the book is crafted. The author relies heavily on translated material. This is fine, but the quotations are not offset to distinguish them from his writings. It was easy to get lost between what he was claiming and what someone else said. Moreover, the text was endnoted rather than footnoted, and it was rather annoying to have to constantly flip to the end of the book to find out who was actually saying some of the things. Overall a very readable book. I would recommend it to anyone seeking to learn the general history of the conquest.

Rating:
Summary: Good history, poor construction.
Review: Conquest of the Incas is a great book for learning about the history of the Spanish conquest of a massive empire. The author is very thorough with respect to the actual conquest, but should have filled in more detail at the beginning of process. By page 100 the Incan empire had essentially fallen to the Spaniards. Surely more occured that is note worthy. This aside, the only other fault is the style in which the book is crafted. The author relies heavily on translated material. This is fine, but the quotations are not offset to distinguish them from his writings. It was easy to get lost between what he was claiming and what someone else said. Moreover, the text was endnoted rather than footnoted, and it was rather annoying to have to constantly flip to the end of the book to find out who was actually saying some of the things. Overall a very readable book. I would recommend it to anyone seeking to learn the general history of the conquest.

Rating:
Summary: Homage to Vilcabamba
Review: Hemmings gives a superb account, perhaps even better than Prescott's 19th century classic, of a war of conquest between the Renaissance Spanish and the Incas of Peru. Early on in the book we hear the story of Francisco Pizarro's "victory" over King Atahualpa, who was kidnapped, purportedly ransomed for gold and then murdered anyway by the Spanish after they had got their gold. He then takes us through the subsequent coup de grace against the Inca powers, internal power struggles among the colonists, further land grabs against neighboring peoples north and south of Peru, and then to the final capture and destruction of the remnants of Inca resistance. Hemmings is clearly sympathetic to the Incas (it is almost impossible not to be), but he gives due credit to the do-or-die bravery of the Spanish, who rarely if ever backed out of a fight, even after the Incas' revised tactics had greatly evened the odds. He also makes a number of very interesting observations about the sophistication and structure of Inca society, its architecture and its simply superb road system. In a final coda we are treated to Bingham's discovery, not 100 years ago, of Machu Picchu.

Rating:
Summary: Homage to Vilcabamba
Review: Hemmings gives a superb account, perhaps even better than Prescott's 19th century classic, of a war of conquest between the Renaissance Spanish and the Incas of Peru. Early on in the book we hear the story of Francisco Pizarro's "victory" over King Atahualpa, who was kidnapped, purportedly ransomed for gold and then murdered anyway by the Spanish after they had got their gold. He then takes us through the subsequent coup de grace against the Inca powers, internal power struggles among the colonists, further land grabs against neighboring peoples north and south of Peru, and then to the final capture and destruction of the remnants of Inca resistance. Hemmings is clearly sympathetic to the Incas (it is almost impossible not to be), but he gives due credit to the do-or-die bravery of the Spanish, who rarely if ever backed out of a fight, even after the Incas' revised tactics had greatly evened the odds. He also makes a number of very interesting observations about the sophistication and structure of Inca society, its architecture and its simply superb road system. In a final coda we are treated to Bingham's discovery, not 100 years ago, of Machu Picchu.

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I began this book just before my visit to Peru and read it along the way - a great way to prepare for the trip and to absorb more during an incredibly educational experience. It really was a key part of my enjoyment of the trip, because I was able to glean more from our various guides and better appreciate the ruins and spanish buildings, particularly in and around Cuzco. The book is an interesting read, but note that the fall of the Incas is essentially completed during the first 100 pages - a good thing if you want a thorough understanding of the history in a very brief time, a bad thing if you were looking for more detail. (I actually liked this aspect of the book.) Another key to this book's success is Hemming's ability to convey who was actually writing the history since of course the goings on would be viewed and recorded differently by spanish conquistadors vs. religious types, to say nothing of the difference of opinion about what happened between the Spanish and the native quechuas. He does a good job of illustrating the different views and allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions about what may have actually happened. I found out about this book from Lonely Planet-the key travel book for the area-and I agree with them and thoroughly recommend it. No trip to Peru should be taken without it!

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I began this book just before my visit to Peru and read it along the way - a great way to prepare for the trip and to absorb more during an incredibly educational experience. It really was a key part of my enjoyment of the trip, because I was able to glean more from our various guides and better appreciate the ruins and spanish buildings, particularly in and around Cuzco. The book is an interesting read, but note that the fall of the Incas is essentially completed during the first 100 pages - a good thing if you want a thorough understanding of the history in a very brief time, a bad thing if you were looking for more detail. (I actually liked this aspect of the book.) Another key to this book's success is Hemming's ability to convey who was actually writing the history since of course the goings on would be viewed and recorded differently by spanish conquistadors vs. religious types, to say nothing of the difference of opinion about what happened between the Spanish and the native quechuas. He does a good job of illustrating the different views and allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions about what may have actually happened. I found out about this book from Lonely Planet-the key travel book for the area-and I agree with them and thoroughly recommend it. No trip to Peru should be taken without it!

Rating:
Summary: Historical writing at its best
Review: I will be visting Peru next month and decided to read this book after the Lonely Planet guide to Peru mentioned Hemmings work as the definitive account of the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire. I finished this fine book and will be going to Cuzco, the former capital of the Incas, with much more enthusiam and interest than can be acquired reading a library full of guide books. What could be more interesting than this true story: Francisco Pizzaro lands on the coast of Peru in the early 1500s. Cortez has just taken Mexico. A powerful Inca emperor has died and a civil war has ensued among his sons. A winner, Atahulpa, is starting to emerge but the war is far from over. Atahalpa thinks very little of the accounts of these strange men, Europeans, who ask for a meeting. Pizzaro arranges a meeting and Atahalpa decends from the hills, carried on a litter, with thousands of warriors. The two meet, and Pizzaro and his handful of Spainards are able to capture the Inca and slaughter hundreds of astonished Indians! The account of the conquest that follows is so incredibly interesting and balanced that it would be hard to imagine an invented work of fiction being more enthralling. Hemming gives a fascinating description of the Inca society and of the conquistadors and missionaries. The Incas did not go down without a protracted fight and Hemming describes these wars in detail with first rate scholarship and complete balance. This book is written like Robert Hughes' The Fatal Shore, a description of the founding of Australia. Anyone who is interested in history, adventure, geography, and sociology could do no better than read either of these fine books.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and informative read
Review: I've spent quite a bit of time in Peru over the past few years and this is perhaps the most enlightening and informative book on the country that I've read. The conquest of the Incas is perhaps the most defining moment in the history of South America and remains so today. John Hemming, through an exciting narrative, carries the reader through the entire process of the conquest. Most of the time spent reading this book I couldn't wait to get to the next page, almost completely lost in the story. Most notably, one feels for both the Incans and the Spanish groups, neither if which are given preferential treatment. For anyone interested in South American history, Peru, the Incan society, or just looking for a good read I would highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping account of an unequal struggle between peoples
Review: This is a readable and authoritative account of Pizarro's conquest of Peru and search for El Dorado in the 1530's: a must-read backgrounder for those who plan a trip to Cuzco and Machu Picchu and an astounding account of war strategies and incredible upsets in a hostile mountain terrain between unequal forces with vastly different technologies. It gives real understanding into present-day relationships between the Spanish and native peoples in South America. I couldn't put it down.