Customer Reviews

Treasures of the Andes: The Glories of Inca and Pre-Columbian South America

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I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Firsly the illustrations are lavish, both in quantity and in clarity and colour, and alone are worth buying the book for. The ancient Andean world was a colourful place and this book does it full justice with wonderful photographs of textiles, ceramics and metal work. There are many photographs of artefacts and sites that I have not seen before which was makes the book refreshingly new. Even when familiar sites are photographed (Machu Picchu for example) the choice has been made to include shots from unusual but interesting angles.

I was also impressed by the written content. I know of Jeffrey Quilter through his work with Gary Urton editing Narrative Threads - a book on the Khipu (Quipu). His account in this volume is very readable and gets across some key points regarding Andean culture well. The difficult balance of providing some detail on each culture whilst avoiding generalisations is successfully achieved. The theme of building from the earliest cultures to the lastest shows both the variety and the continuity of Andean cultures and what a creative place the ancient Andes were.

In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient Peru.

Regards, Dave Essery www.ancientdave.com

Revised Review

The editorial reviewer and customer Dave Essery have accurately summarized what awaits one between the covers of this book. I would, however, add the following specifics about its stunning photography. Of its 202 colored photographs, 69 are one- to-two-page spreads; only 55 are smaller than a third of a page. Panoramic views, monumental sites and their architectural details comprise approximately 25% of the photos, which is to say that textiles, ceramics, and metalwork are not slighted.

As for the appeal of the text-- Because my interest in pre-Columbian cultures and their artistry/craftsmanship has only recently been sparked, I wanted a book that gave me a basic understanding of them without overwhelming me with voluminous detail. And this is precisely what Jeffrey Quilter does, in well-written, non-academic prose. Yet the text may also appeal to those who are knowledgeable about those cultures. Said one such friend to whom I loaned my book, "I enjoyed reading it because it was like a refresher course that jogged my memory and brought to mind other things I'd read but had forgotten."

TREASURES OF THE ANDES, in other words, is a book that many will treasure. I have, however, detailed the contents of it in Comment #3 so that you will be better able to determine if it is a book you want to purchase.