Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153430 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-28
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

The Washington Post, June 24, 2007
"A welcome addition to the literature . . . Lively and dramatic."

Entertainment Weekly, June 1, 2007
"Thrillingly informative...narrative gold"

Half a millennium ago, a small group of Spaniards tricked, manipulated, and
murdered their way to total domination over the Peruvian Incas. In this
thrillingly informative work, MacQuarrie relates how, with the help of
metal weapons, artillery, disease, and horses ("the mobile tanks of the
conquest"), the Spanish subdued a native populace despite being outnumbered
nearly 10,000 to 1. In addition to writing rousing and clear-eyed battle
accounts and describing the Incas' early form of guerrilla warfare,
MacQuarrie also manages to spin the oft-told story of the discovery of
Machu Picchu into narrative gold.

Forbes Magazine, June 18, 2007
"Thoroughly and entertainingly recounted...MacQuarrie excels"

Customer Reviews

A thoroughly enjoyable read
I actually bought this book for my father who is planning a trip to Peru but on reading through the first few pages I was compelled to read it all and let my father wait for his present! I wouldn't normally be drawn to "history books" but rather than a factual account of the demise of the Incas, this historical novel really brings the events to life and really caught my imagination. My knowledge of the conquest of the Incas was limited before reading this book and I was fascinated to learn how such a small number of Spaniards, sanctioned by the Catholic church, overthrew a great civilisation in pursuit of gold and souls.
This book led to great discussions between my father and I once I finally gave him his present!
I would recommend this book not just to people interested in history in general or in the Incas but to anyone looking for a good read over the holidays for it's as gripping a drama as you'll get!

A Phenomenal Read
If you want to read about the conquest of the Incas, one of the two biggest epic stories in the Americas (the other being Cortes' conquest of the Aztecs, then you really only have two choices: John Hemming's The Conquest of the Incas, and Kim MacQuarrie's The Last Days of the Incas. Hemming's book was published in 1970, thus recent discoveries in Peru during the last four decades are missing--and a lot has happened. It is a very detailed book with lots of footnotes and research, however, it was written by an academic and is average in writing quality. There is thus no attempt in Hemming's book to bring the characters to life, or even to tell their full stories. MacQuarrie's book, on the other hand, was published in 2007 and thus is very up-to-date. You'll learn about recent and important discoveries in 1999 and 2001, how Machu Picchu figured into the conquest and was discovered, and so on. But what really sets it apart from any other book on Inca history is the writing quality. The Last Days of the Incas is really a phenomenal read, the best that I've come across, period. Not since William Prescott's The Conquest of Peru (published in 1847 and a big best seller in its time, but now very outdated) has anyone achieved what MacQuarrie has achieved, bringing the conquest of the Incas back to life. The Last Days of the Incas is not only well researched and up-to-date, but the book is an amazing page-turner. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. The author really succeeds in recreating Pizarro and his conquistadors and the various Inca emperors as full, three-dimensional characters. In sum, if you want to transport yourself in a time machine back to the 16th century in Peru and feel what it was like to be a participant in the sprawling epic that was the conquest of the Inca civilization, there's only one book to get: The Last Days of the Incas. Its a real tour de force.

A very enlightening Book
HIstorical Books were never my cup of tea but the Inca Empire has been in the news alot lately and I was curious to find out more about it hence I bought and read Last Days of the Incas. I was absolutely delighted I found it informative, interesting and easy to read which was great as I imagined books with this type of content would be heavy going. Kim Mac Quarrie's research was second to none and it has left me with the desire to go to Peru myself and see some of these sights