[issybird]

This is a great read, like something out of H. Rider Haggard, with the kicker that it all really happened.

I've been especally fascinated by Atahualpa.

Spoiler:

He had just won a savage civil war and yet was blindsided by Pizzaro. Revered as a deity whose men struggled to keep his litter upright even as they were hacked to pieces, he had no compunction about selling out his people and depleting his country's weath, despoiling temples, just to save his own sorry hide. He could have been great and no doubt thought he was after wresting control of the country from his brother, but he turned out to be a tinpot despot. Being tricked by Pizarro was one thing, as Hemming points out only the Spanish knew why they were there, but he was unable to come to grips with the reality of the situation and his likely demise and organize a rebellion while he still could. The disaffection of the peasantry for the ruling class as a result is part of the tragedy.

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

This is one of the things I like about Hemming. He may have positions of his own but he doesn't just give black and white judgements--he shows the more complex grey areas.

The narrative is thrilling, but he doesn't hesitate to interrupt it when he has to elucidate different points of view and conflicting evidence. It's a heady combination of scholarship and a great read, which I would argue is one of the criteria for literary nonfiction; no doubt we'll have more to say about that as we read.

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

I find it sad to think about the great loss of artifacts to history as they were broken and melted down into gold and silver for their monetary value and the destruction of various Inca temples for the same purposes. There must have been some superb works of art. This quote had an impact on me.

I know; the epitome of art of a culture used as ransom by a king, and treated as so much scrap metal by another. Sic transit gloria mundi, indeed!

I love the detail which creates such a fully realized world. The women eating Atahualpa's hairs! Clothing made from vampire bat skins!