Post by patrickm on Sept 22, 2010 9:51:51 GMT -6
I am in the Chicago History Book Club. Our book this time was "Last Days of the Incas" by Kim MacQuarrie,
www.lastdaysoftheincas.com
and our meeting was last night. Thought some of you might enjoy some of the photos as well, and maybe the book.
The book got 10 thumbs up, 2 down, and one "for me, worst book we've ever read, and the only one I couldn't finish! Just terrible!" from our leader. It has problems, for me mostly inherent to writing about a time, place, and conflict where, because they had no written language, sources for one whole side of the fascinating story are missing entirely. In order to construct a narrative, the author was left to fill in the gaps. The story also tells the tale of the later 20th Century exploration of Peru by white guys, and finding Machu Picchu, Vilcabamba, and more. This part is also pretty crazy with some very plus-sized personalities going at it.
Here's the note I sent to the group:
Julia and I took a trip to Peru in March for my brother's wedding. We took thousands of pics. Lucky for you, I sorted through them and picked what I hope are the most germane to our book and discussion tonight.
You have our dinner at a pre-Inca Huaca (ca. 400 AD) in the middle of Lima, our trip to Cusco four days later which included visits to Q'orikancha (Temple of the Sun), Sacsayhuaman, Chinchero, and Ollantaytambo, and then back to Lima nearly two weeks later for a trip through Pizarro's Old Lima, including a monastic catacombs, and a stop at a beautiful literary library.
At the very end are a few camera videos of our excellent guide, Juan, talking about Q'orikancha. Sorry for the audio, but it is windy there and I was using a camera (not a video camera).
The photos are a conglomerate of shots taken by me on both pocket camera and cell phone camera, as well as shots by Julia on her better pocket camera. The grainy shots are from my old iPhone, so apologies. Was taking those for the blog.
gallery.me.com/pmonaghan/100170
I suggest slide show mode so you can see the witty captions.
Have enjoyed the book very much, and wish I had read it before we went down there. We have to go back anyway. Pisac and Machu Picchu were closed because of mudslides and flooding. We also did not make it to Chavin de Huantar near Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca. It is lovely up there, but we ran out of time for a harrowing eight hour round trip car ride to the ruins, and hiked instead.
When I get the rest done, I will let you know and you may proceed at your own risk.
www.lastdaysoftheincas.com
and our meeting was last night. Thought some of you might enjoy some of the photos as well, and maybe the book.
The book got 10 thumbs up, 2 down, and one "for me, worst book we've ever read, and the only one I couldn't finish! Just terrible!" from our leader. It has problems, for me mostly inherent to writing about a time, place, and conflict where, because they had no written language, sources for one whole side of the fascinating story are missing entirely. In order to construct a narrative, the author was left to fill in the gaps. The story also tells the tale of the later 20th Century exploration of Peru by white guys, and finding Machu Picchu, Vilcabamba, and more. This part is also pretty crazy with some very plus-sized personalities going at it.
Here's the note I sent to the group:
Julia and I took a trip to Peru in March for my brother's wedding. We took thousands of pics. Lucky for you, I sorted through them and picked what I hope are the most germane to our book and discussion tonight.
You have our dinner at a pre-Inca Huaca (ca. 400 AD) in the middle of Lima, our trip to Cusco four days later which included visits to Q'orikancha (Temple of the Sun), Sacsayhuaman, Chinchero, and Ollantaytambo, and then back to Lima nearly two weeks later for a trip through Pizarro's Old Lima, including a monastic catacombs, and a stop at a beautiful literary library.
At the very end are a few camera videos of our excellent guide, Juan, talking about Q'orikancha. Sorry for the audio, but it is windy there and I was using a camera (not a video camera).
The photos are a conglomerate of shots taken by me on both pocket camera and cell phone camera, as well as shots by Julia on her better pocket camera. The grainy shots are from my old iPhone, so apologies. Was taking those for the blog.
gallery.me.com/pmonaghan/100170
I suggest slide show mode so you can see the witty captions.
Have enjoyed the book very much, and wish I had read it before we went down there. We have to go back anyway. Pisac and Machu Picchu were closed because of mudslides and flooding. We also did not make it to Chavin de Huantar near Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca. It is lovely up there, but we ran out of time for a harrowing eight hour round trip car ride to the ruins, and hiked instead.
When I get the rest done, I will let you know and you may proceed at your own risk.
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