Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: A Chronicle of an Incan Treasure [Paperback]

Peter Lourie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Eight billion dollars’ worth of Inca gold and silver are rumored to be hidden in an unmapped region of the Andes. This is the captivating story of that fabled treasure and the centuries-old spell it has cast on many, including a young American student, Peter Lourie.

While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa’s ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler’s murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes.

Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa’s ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie’s account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The lost treasure of Atahualpa, the Inca king murdered by Pizarro in 1534, continues to lure gold hunters to the distant, almost impassable mountains of Ecuador, where, legend says, it is hidden. Lourie, a graduate student in anthropology, succumbed to the legend and set off on an expedition to separate myth from fact. His journal captures the quixotic path he followed, often with laughable unreadiness and the self-delusion that propelled many fellow-travelers he encountered en route. In the end, ironically, Lourie concluded that he had no desire whatsoever to disturb the Incas' gold. His journal is a captivating, if meandering adventure.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The Llanganati is a remote, high Andean area of Ecuador that has long been rumored to contain a fabulous gold collection hidden by the Incas when the Spanish conquistadors swept through. Over the years it has attracted a colorful variety of treasure hunters, some of whom the author got to know in the early 1980s. Lourie decided to make the expedition himself, but not in search of the treasure so much as the experience of the journey. In doing so, his first book is a rich tapestry of characters of several nationalitites that often reads like fiction. The title is a reference to the Incan imagery of gold and silver, respectively. The only major drawback is an absence of maps, yet this is ultimately a fine treasure-hunting book.
-Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803279809
• ISBN-13: 978-0803279803
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Ecuador

More About the Author

Peter Lourie was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and grew up in New England, Ontario, Canada, and New York City. He holds a BA in classics from New York University, an MA in English Literature from the University of Maine, and an MFA in nonfiction creative writing from Columbia University. He has taught writing for many years (Middlebury College, Columbia College, University of Vermont), and now makes his living traveling, writing and photographing. He also visits schools to share his adventures with students and teachers. He lives in Vermont where he is now working on an ongoing NSF-funded digital story-telling project about the Arctic, and a book about the Leakey family on Lake Turkana, Kenya.

http://peterlourie.com
http://peterlourie.com/bio/index.htm
http://arcticstories.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is thrilling and intelligent, great book., September 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: A Chronicle of an Incan Treasure (Paperback)

I first read Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon in the original Atheneum hardcover. What a fine book! It's not your usual treasure-hunt adventure, but a sensitive portrayal of South American culture and dreams. Well, it's also a treasure hunt, and you can't believe Lourie lived through it all to tell the tale. I'm so happy to see it in paperback A really fine book by a fine author. His young-adult books are extraordinary as well. But this one's a must for any reader interested in the Andes, in treasure hunting, in the human soul in darkest peril. Five stars all the way. This is one of those books you keep thinking about for years.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasury of Characters, January 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: A Chronicle of an Incan Treasure (Paperback)

This was a great story of the possibility that vast wealth in gold and silver are still hidden in the Andes. The various doccuments and treasure hunters that the author unearthed and befriended made for a ripping yarn. His own expedition to the trecherous landscape where the treasure is supposedly hidden was a real adventure. He cared about the people he wrote about and the reader will too. Loved this book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Enthralling!", May 9, 2001

By 

Des Vitalis (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: A Chronicle of an Incan Treasure (Paperback)

I was enthralled by this book, it is excellently written and gives the reader a true feeling of what it is like to have "Gold Fever". I have recently finished the book but I am reading it again because it is that good! It is also extremely educational, I knew nothing about the Incas until I read Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon. I am now longing to take a trip to the Llanganatis mountains, not in search of treasure, more on a pilgrimage than anything else.