Customer Reviews

The Cities of the Ancient Andes

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The authors provide a stimulating introduction to urbanism in the Precolumbian Andes. The only problem with this book was that it left me wanting more. Since the book covers the entire history of the Ancient Andes, it cannot devote much space to any specific city or civilization. Nevertheless, there is still more than enough to enthrall. At the start of each chapter on a civilization, there is always a short description of what life would have been like for some inhabitants of a city of that civilization. This provides some extra colour to the book though some technical readers might not appreciate it. My favourite portion was on Tiwanaku, the largest city of the altiplano around Lake Titicaca. The pictures and maps were excellent and greatly enhanced to the book.

The author of this book knows so much, it seems, he can't get it all into his book.

Without having a firm foundation in early Andean culture, I found this book challenging to digest. It moves through historical terminology at a mind-warping rate. On the other hand, after "stepping back" to read more basic books on the same subject, I realize I've gotten a strong platform of knowledge from Von Hagen. I recommend you read this book only if you plan to read others on the topic, too.

Von Hagen first explains the definition of a city. Then in chronological order she starts telling about the pre-cities (monumental architecture) in Peru and the first cities. All is accompanied by beautiful photos and helpful maps. The stories of the cities are preceded with a tale "once upon a time" though in a very realistic manner. Next the city is explained When you visit Peru, and walk through the cities, this book will help you imagine how real life was in precolumbian times.

If you are interested in the Andes from a culture and even spiritual viewpoint then this book is a great place to start. It covers the major cites in sufficient detail to give you a vignette or small taste of what each site is about. There are plenty of photos and detailed drawings to make the text enjoyable. And the writing style is not as cold as you would find in most other archeology type books. Highly recommended.

You may also want to check out The Machu Picchu Guidebook: A Self-Guided Tour and machu picchu forever. The guidebook has detailed information on the MP site. The second book is a more artistic and spiritually oriented book that is a real treasure.