The Last Days of the Incas

I also liked how this book covers the "re-discovery" of the Inca ruins in the early 1900's and other relevant information.
This book was so compelling to me that I now will plan to visit Peru to visit as many Inca sites as I possibly can.

I just returned from my first trip to Peru, visiting Cusco and Machu Picchu. This book was the perfect read before the trip. MacQuarie's vivid descriptions and accounts enabled me to feel like I was walking right through history as I explored the region. The information and knowledge provided by the book enhanced my trip tremendously. The Last Days of the Incas reads like an exciting edge of your seat novel that you can't put down. Don't visit Peru without reading this book; read it if you want to understand the Incas and what the Spanish did to them.

Great read for those interested in Early American civilizations and the first European explorers to discover these civilizations - and destroy them. Covers a number of explorers and their relationship to each other. Very interesting and informative stuff not in the history (if you received any)you received in school, be it public school or college. Well documented.

Truly an amazing book. So well written and descriptive! Would highly recommend to anyone planning on travelling to Peru, or simply as someone who enjoys reading about history. A gem and have highly recommended to everyone I know!

Great book that explain about the Inca civilization and the Spanish conquest.
We went to Cusco to visit the ruins and the sights and the book made our trip much more exciting since we knew the history behind each venue.

I read this book while touring Peru (Machu Picchu) and enjoyed having the storyline unfold as we traveled. The historical basis meshed with our guide's information and helped to illuminate what he was explaining. I found the author's command of the history to be excellent and his writing to be engaging.

I absolutely loved this book. Historically accurate and very interesting. I recommend this book even for people who are only slightly interested in the story of the Incas. Once you are done reading this book, you'll be wishing for a follow up book.

I guess my favorite books are ones that surprise my knowledge of the past. For example, this book is a constant read of images that I wasn't expecting. People with a euro-centric bias to history will be taken back with the complexity of the Incas, the vastness of their society and the sadness of what might have been.

Just a fantastic book. I read this prior to visiting Peru and learned a ton about a subject I thought I knew a lot about. It is written like a novel and is actually a page turner. Highly recommend if you have an interest in history or the Inca culture.

My absolute favorite book. No book out there reads as insanely good and bizarre as this book does. Not even your weirdest Sci-fi book can touch the insane things the conquistadors did in Peru. I haven't been able to read fiction since I read this book. This book ruined fiction for me. This book proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

I have read other histories of the Inca. This book is the best I have read.It makes the progression of the Spanish invasion and the Inca response very clear and understandable. It also puts the lead players in this history in context by explaining their backgrounds and personalities.

First of all the book was received from the store.com in excellent condition and in a very timely manner. My wife and I are going on an the store River cruise and then to Machu Picchu in January. The author went to great lengths to insure the book was factual and informative. Even though the book was nearly 500 pages, I found myself reading late into the night. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to get to Peru and see the ruins and cities I read about. Excellent.

This book is a great gift, extremely informative with much more depth than I expected, and it's really, really well written, too. It clearly shows an amazing picture of cultural clash between Indians and Spaniards, one which other reviewers have outlined. My understanding of conquistadors and the various cultures of the Andes were greatly expanded by this book.

Absolutely a fabulous read. One is left wondering what phenomenal buildings, forts, and palaces the Incas could have built had they not have been decimated by the
Spanish invaders. A must read for travellers planning on or who have previously visited Peru.

Really enjoyed the flow of this book. It was less dry and more embellished than most history. What I liked was that the author made it easy to tell what was an embellishment and what was not.

What I did not like was the moderately apparent demonization of the Spaniards. What they did wasn't great, but we don't know all of their litigation. Likewise, the Incas we're written in as protagonists. Would have preferred a more neutral view, but it is not a deal breaker

Really enjoyed the flow of this book. It was less dry and more embellished than most history. What I liked was that the author made it easy to tell what was an embellishment and what was not.

What I did not like was the moderately apparent demonization of the Spaniards. What they did wasn't great, but we don't know all of their litigation. Likewise, the Incas we're written in as protagonists. Would have preferred a more neutral view, but it is not a deal breaker

The author manages to capture and explain the world in which the Inca civilization flourished and how it came to an abrupt end. A very good introduction into the history of Peru, it's ruins and the complex stories behind them.

A highly readable and immensely informing account of one of the most important events of human history: the collision of the Old World and the New World in the Andes almost 500 years ago, with large consequences to this day.

I originally thought this book was going to be too long, but the author does a good job of making it read more like a novel and less like a history book. It is a good overview without having to deal with too many unimportant facts. I would definitely recommend it for anyone about to visit Peru or Machu Picchu.

Perhaps it was my expectation that this was a history book that caused me to find the book annoying. Had I approached it thinking it was the "rip roaring adventure" another reviewer found it to be I might have enjoyed it more. If I had a Word document version of it I would have counted the number of times the author writes "presumably" or, even more often, "no doubt". It might be in the hundreds.

I don't have the book in front of me as I write this so I can't look in it for some good quotes to illustrate, but go to the sample of the book here on the store and even on page 10 you see the author engaging in pure speculation by saying in describing Hiram Bingham's actions, "That morning, with his heart no doubt pounding, and trying hard to appear at ease, Bingham pretended he was going to school, left the house, and, as soon as he got out of sight went directly to the bank." Scroll just one more page to page 11 in the sample and you find, "A good defensive site, Bingham no doubt thought, as he drank several gourdsful of water, looking around at the surroundings..." Even in the last chapters, where the primary sources are still alive, (Savoy and Lee) the author at least once used "presumably" to describe something about their relationship.

At one point I started to tab the pages where the phrases were found but I was tabbing nearly every page. The author might say something like, No Doubt the Inca king used the clay model to plan the city.... The clay model itself having been introduced by use of a "no doubt".

I assume I learned something about the time. But I am unsure of what is known history and what was introduced for the drama. Since I was looking for History I was disappointed. But if you are looking for a great adventure story, kind of like the movies say, "based on a true story" then have at it.

MacQuarrie tells the story of the fall of the Incas in a beautiful, easy-to-swallow way. Like many reviewers mentioned, the book almost reads like non-fiction. He really brings the history to life. I recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the Inca civilization. While this book focuses mostly on the fall, stories of the past help paint a well-rounded picture of the Incan civilization as a whole. I especially recommend it to anyone who's been or plans on traveling to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Macau Picchu. It will fascinate you to read how these areas played a role in this history. You'll really be able to visualize some of the incidents MacQuarrie writes about.