The Last Days of the Incas - Tapa dura

"A colorful, superbly crafted historical narrative that masterfully demonstrates that when cultures collide, unforeseen and tragic consequences follow....also a memorable adventure story, revealing the modern Indiana Jones-type characters that unearthed, and continue to discover, lost parts of the Inca Empire. "Last Days of the Incas" is historical writing at its best." -- Broughton Coburn, author of "Everest: Mountain Without Mercy"

The Last Days of the Incas is a popular epic history of the conquest of the powerful Inca Empire, the largest empire ever known in the New World, by 168 Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, a one-eyed conquistador, and his four brothers. It describes the three-year conquest and the 37 year guerrilla war that followed as the Incas relocated from their capital, Cuzco, high in the Andes, to a new capital, Vilcabamba, deep in the Amazon jungle. Because they brought with them two powerful weapons, horses and muskets, the Spaniards were able to conquer an Inca force that outnumbered them by hundreds to one. Although professing to claim Peru in the name of Christianity, the conquistadors were really attracted to the abundant gold of the Inca capital at Cuzco, and dreamed of taking these riches and returning to Spain to live as fabulously wealthy noblemen (a dream that only a few of them actually realised). Drawing on contemporary Spanish chronicles, MacQuarrie recreates some of the great battles between the two sides and describes the terrible treatment of the Inca rulers and the Indian people at the hands of the Spaniards. MacQuarrie tells the story with all the drama and richness that it deserves. This book also gives an account of the recent discovery of the lost Inca city Vilcabamba, deep in the Amazon jungle, by three American explorers. About the Author Kim MacQuarrie is a four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. He has written two previous books on Peru.