03-12-2013, 09:15 AM | #16 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
I'm working through the first part of this remarkable book. One thing seems clear: Hemming demonstrates how the tragedy of the Inca civilization seems to result from the most perverse set of events imaginable. It seems like Murphy's Law was in full operation!
Spoiler:
Speaking generally, Hemming does a fine job in creating a sense of immediacy in the analysis of seminal events as well as clearing away the anecdotal--often politically motivated--debris that has accumulated over the centuries. His skill and careful analytical research is especially apparent in the narration of the events and motives actually surrounding the "trial" of Atahualpa and the way in which these were then mythologized by later writers. Last edited by fantasyfan; 03-12-2013 at 12:07 PM. |
03-16-2013, 11:04 AM | #17 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,824
Karma: 5843878
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: UK
Device: Pocketbook Pro 903, (beloved Pocketbook 360 RIP), Kobo Mini, Kobo Aura
|
Quote:
|
|
03-16-2013, 02:32 PM | #18 |
Home for the moment
Posts: 5,127
Karma: 27718936
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: travelling
Device: various
|
I enjoy reading this historical narrative with its detailed descriptions. It is very well written; I feel myself drawn in this story. John Hemming must have had a though job reseaching all.
It is a big book though and I'm at page 110 of 551. I guess it will not finish it before the end of April. The arrogance of the conquerors makes my toes curl and is hard to understand in these days. Spoiler:
And, not to be too flippant, but I shudder at the thought of travelling in the Andes of that time. Spoiler:
|
03-16-2013, 03:22 PM | #19 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
[QUOTE=desertblues;2455781]I enjoy reading this historical narrative with its detailed descriptions. It is very well written; I feel myself drawn in this story. John Hemming must have had a though job reseaching all.
It is a big book though and I'm at page 110 of 551. I guess it will not finish it before the end of April. Spoiler:
I had a similar reaction. Spoiler:
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. Last edited by fantasyfan; 03-16-2013 at 03:24 PM. |
03-16-2013, 03:37 PM | #20 | |
Home for the moment
Posts: 5,127
Karma: 27718936
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: travelling
Device: various
|
Quote:
When reading this story I find myself judging, weighing, thinking how some things could have been prevented. Interesting. |
|
03-16-2013, 03:53 PM | #21 | |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,871
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
Quote:
Spoiler:
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. Spoiler:
|
|
03-16-2013, 04:07 PM | #22 | |
Home for the moment
Posts: 5,127
Karma: 27718936
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: travelling
Device: various
|
Quote:
I was thinking exactly the same thing about the golden objects....what a shame. |
|
03-16-2013, 05:03 PM | #23 | ||
Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
Quote:
Quote:
Last edited by fantasyfan; 03-16-2013 at 05:07 PM. |
||
03-17-2013, 09:03 AM | #24 | ||
o saeclum infacetum
Posts: 20,268
Karma: 222544794
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: New England
Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5
|
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:
Quote:
Quote:
I love the detail which creates such a fully realized world. The women eating Atahualpa's hairs! Clothing made from vampire bat skins! |
||
03-18-2013, 09:50 PM | #25 |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
My copy just arrived in the mail! Back soon.
|
03-23-2013, 08:31 PM | #26 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,824
Karma: 5843878
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: UK
Device: Pocketbook Pro 903, (beloved Pocketbook 360 RIP), Kobo Mini, Kobo Aura
|
Quote:
|
|
03-23-2013, 08:43 PM | #27 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,871
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
The Apple iBooks sample had the endnotes broken into chapter headings in the ToC. The Kindle version just has an endnotes category in the ToC. What I have done in the Kindle version is create a bookmark at the chapter I'm reading within the endnotes so at least I can move back and forth using the bookmark. Hope that helps a little.
|
03-23-2013, 09:08 PM | #28 |
o saeclum infacetum
Posts: 20,268
Karma: 222544794
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: New England
Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5
|
Unfortunately, I have to say that the Nook book has the issue as the Kindle version. What I'm doing is following the footnotes with the Nook app on my iPod Touch, so I can refer to them quickly without using bookmarks. This might be a strategy for those with smartphones or tablets, if it's not the device being used as reader. I agree, though, it's inexcusable not to have live footnotes. And in something touted as the revised 2012 version, too!
|
03-23-2013, 09:23 PM | #29 | |||||||
Nameless Being
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
So I have finished this. At times it was a bit of a chore to keep going, that is when it read like a textbook for the history of the Spanish conquest of the Incas. On the other hand it was nice to have such a detailed picture painted of events and of the major players involved, and all the interesting tidbits of color. As others have mentioned it seemed that God was really on the side of the Spaniards the way a confluence of lucky circumstances allowed Pizarro and the Spanish to so quickly overcome the Inca. Of course in addition to the fight for secession that Pizarro was lucky enough to encounter at the time of his arrival there was the fact that much of the Inca empire consisted of other tribes that the Inca had only relatively recently subjugated, and often very brutally. So these people were actually willing to assist the Spaniards against the Inca, figuring to replace the rapacious brutal overlords that they knew with the at the time the unknown Spaniards. Much the same as what allowed Cortez to achieve so much success in Mexico against the Aztec Empire. The indigenous people could not have known how much worse the cure was going to be. I too was also struck by the fact that there were a number of Spaniards that at least had and expressed moral doubts about what they were doing. It did not actually much restrain their actions, but at least some of them were reflective about it. In the end of course they could justify just about anything in the name of the Church. When reading over and over about how a relative handful of Spaniards were able to rout much larger (sometimes by a factor of 5 to 10 times) Inca armies all because of the Spaniards being mounted on horses it really led me to a what if reflection. What if the horse had not become extinct in the Americas before mankind first arrived? Might the entire history from the first European arrival played out in an entirely different way? As far as the loss of such artwork and cultural artifacts just to get the gold and silver, yes, indeed we can look back now shudder. “Whenever I hear the word culture I remove the safety from my Browning.” From the play Schlageter by Hanns Johst. And associated with the Nazis since it was first performed in 1933 in honor of Hitler's birthday. Modified to “Whenever I hear the word culture I reach for my checkbook” spoken by a character in the Jean-Luc Godard film Contempt. |
|||||||
03-24-2013, 05:22 AM | #30 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
Quote:
I tend to browse the notes to a specific chapter first and place a bookmark at any explanatory reference that looks interesting {many are simply source references}. But that's only my personal approach--which I do for a hard copy version as well. Last edited by fantasyfan; 03-24-2013 at 06:04 AM. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Western Chisholm, A. M: Desert Conquest. V1. 18 Aug 2011 | crutledge | ePub Books (offline) | 0 | 08-18-2011 07:38 AM |
Western Chisholm, A. M: Desert Conquest. V1. 18 Aug 2011 | crutledge | BBeB/LRF Books (offline) | 0 | 08-18-2011 07:36 AM |
Historical Fiction Henty, George Alfred: The Treasure of the Incas. V1. 22 May 2010 | crutledge | Kindle Books | 0 | 05-22-2010 12:59 PM |
Historical Fiction Henty, George Alfred: The Treasure of the Incas. V1. 22 May 2010 | crutledge | BBeB/LRF Books | 0 | 05-22-2010 12:58 PM |
Historical Fiction Henty, George Alfred: The Treasure of the Incas. V1. 22 May 2010 | crutledge | ePub Books | 0 | 05-22-2010 12:55 PM |