The Conquest of the Incas: Amazon.ca: John Hemming: Books

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

First Sentence
ON 25 September 1513 a force of weary Spanish explorers cut through the forests of Panama and were confronted by an ocean: the Mar del Sur, the South Sea or Pacific Ocean. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing account of the conquest of the Inca empire, Jan 21 2012

By

Hektor Konomi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conquest Of The Incas (Paperback)

Truly mesmerizing and thorough account of the destruction of the Inca empire by the Spanish. Detailed accounts of the key encounters between the two civilizations, and how it shaped modern South America.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good history, poor construction., Feb 19 1999

By

Chris Willett (cwillett@math.uiuc.edu) (Champaign, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conquest of the Incas (Paperback)

Conquest of the Incas is a great book for learning about the history of the Spanish conquest of a massive empire. The author is very thorough with respect to the actual conquest, but should have filled in more detail at the beginning of process. By page 100 the Incan empire had essentially fallen to the Spaniards. Surely more occured that is note worthy. This aside, the only other fault is the style in which the book is crafted. The author relies heavily on translated material. This is fine, but the quotations are not offset to distinguish them from his writings. It was easy to get lost between what he was claiming and what someone else said. Moreover, the text was endnoted rather than footnoted, and it was rather annoying to have to constantly flip to the end of the book to find out who was actually saying some of the things. Overall a very readable book. I would recommend it to anyone seeking to learn the general history of the conquest.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical writing at its best, April 11 1998

By

Michael Scott (mimzyjr@metronet.com) (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conquest of the Incas (Paperback)

I will be visting Peru next month and decided to read this book after the Lonely Planet guide to Peru mentioned Hemmings work as the definitive account of the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire. I finished this fine book and will be going to Cuzco, the former capital of the Incas, with much more enthusiam and interest than can be acquired reading a library full of guide books. What could be more interesting than this true story: Francisco Pizzaro lands on the coast of Peru in the early 1500s. Cortez has just taken Mexico. A powerful Inca emperor has died and a civil war has ensued among his sons. A winner, Atahulpa, is starting to emerge but the war is far from over. Atahalpa thinks very little of the accounts of these strange men, Europeans, who ask for a meeting. Pizzaro arranges a meeting and Atahalpa decends from the hills, carried on a litter, with thousands of warriors. The two meet, and Pizzaro and his handful of Spainards are able to capture the Inca and slaughter hundreds of astonished Indians! The account of the conquest that follows is so incredibly interesting and balanced that it would be hard to imagine an invented work of fiction being more enthralling. Hemming gives a fascinating description of the Inca society and of the conquistadors and missionaries. The Incas did not go down without a protracted fight and Hemming describes these wars in detail with first rate scholarship and complete balance. This book is written like Robert Hughes' The Fatal Shore, a description of the founding of Australia. Anyone who is interested in history, adventure, geography, and sociology could do no better than read either of these fine books.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 19 reviews 4.7 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic and informative read
I've spent quite a bit of time in Peru over the past few years and this is perhaps the most enlightening and informative book on the country that I've read. Read more

Published on Jun 5 2004 by Paul A. Peters

5.0 out of 5 stars Homage to Vilcabamba
Hemmings gives a superb account, perhaps even better than Prescott's 19th century classic, of a war of conquest between the Renaissance Spanish and the Incas of Peru. Read more

Published on May 23 2004 by Matherson