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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inca Past, Explorations Past, Explorations Present, April 8, 2003
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.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining book about the Incas, October 1, 2004
For a well-written, informative, and painless way to learn a lot about the Inca civilization of Peru and the explorers who discovered it, this may be the best book around.
The writer is a British bartender who mounted an expedition to the Inca country in the early 1980s. Retreating -- as did most foreigners -- from the region during the reign of terror by the Sendero Luminoso he returned in the late 1990s to continue his explorations. The author is refreshingly candid, irreverent, and much less pretentious than most explorers and archaelogists. He avoids the "gee whiz, I was the first white man ever to overcome incredible hardships and discover a lost civilization" claims of many writers.
The subject matter is magnificient. The remains of the Inca include far more than the well-known ruins of Machu Pichu and Sacsahuaman (Sexy-Woman to the tourists). The Inca heartland in Peru and the ceja de la selva (eyebrow of the jungle) is as mysterious, little-explored, and rugged as any chunk of real estate on the planet. The author's accounts of his rediscoveries of long forgotten ruins are fascinating, not least for his tales of hardships and humor (...)his way over 14,000 feet mountain passes and through trackless jungles with a variety of feckless companions. Woven into the narrative is the story of the Spanish conquest of the Incas.
I learned from this book how little is known about the Incas and what an extraordinary civilization they were.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Highly Enjoyable Reading Experience, May 10, 2003
Any young history student can tell you the story of the Incas. Bedazzled by stories of cities built of stone and overflowing with gold, children dream of hidden treasures in South America. Tales of the conquistadors --- the culture they conquered and the riches they took --- are told throughout the world, inspiring young men and women to leave their homes and venture into the South American mountains. British explorer and documentary filmmaker Hugh Thomson was one of those adventurers. Lured to Peru by the story of Llactapata, a ruin discovered by noted explorer Hiram Bingham but lost again beneath the vines and trees of Peru's jungle, Thomson and his team embarked upon a journey to rediscover the missing ruin. Accompanied by local guides, Thomson hiked the Inca trail through the Andean Mountains to his destination --- encountering entertaining locals, interesting cuisine, swarms of gnats and the occasional snake. Nearly twenty years after his first excursion, Thomson would return to Peru to resume his studies of the Inca ruins. THE WHITE ROCK is not only the story of Thomson's explorations, but also the history of the Inca culture and the archaeologists and explorers who have recorded it. Thomson never hesitates to give credit where it is due, a notable contrast to the often overblown egos of explorers. True to documentarian form, Thomson offers an unbiased, honest account of his travels in Peru, highlighting various aspects of its culture, arts and inhabitants. He also points out what he believes are discrepancies in the historical chronicle of the Incas and offers plausible alternatives. A combination of a history text and travel memoir, THE WHITE ROCK offers the reader much more than other books in either of these genres. Thomson's balance of humor and scholarship makes for an enjoyable reading experience, and the forty-five black and white photographs beautifully illustrate the mystical draw of the Incas. --- Reviewed by Melissa Brown
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