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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
I picked this up before I hiked the Inca Trail so I could read it before and during the hike (My advice? Finish it before you go because the second your head hits the pillow at 7:30 p.m. on the Inca Trail, you're dead to the world).
I thought it was very well researched and reported. As my traveling companions can attest, I was constantly saying "I learned about this in my book!" as we toured Cusco and hiked the trail over 4 days.
I loved the foot notes and the storytelling. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is planning to take a trip to Machu Picchu.
I thought it was very well researched and reported. As my traveling companions can attest, I was constantly saying "I learned about this in my book!" as we toured Cusco and hiked the trail over 4 days.
I loved the foot notes and the storytelling. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is planning to take a trip to Machu Picchu.
An interesting travelogue, though sometimes the narrative wanders a little. The author's humor definitely livened things up, and of course the sites he's visiting sound amazing!
Humorously told in a self deprecating manner, it was an enjoyable adventure. Can’t wait to go there!
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was hard to keep some of the names of places straight and I wish there were more visuals to accompany the descriptions of the places. Definitely made me curious about the special and mysterious Inca Trail/Machu Picchu.
The part of the book relating to the authors's journey was interesting but the remainder was dull reading.
Read this in preparation for my trip to Machu Picchu. It was a fun and informative read! I loved following along on Mark’s journey while also learning about Inca history and Peruvian culture. Highly recommend!
This book is a number of things; it's an historical telling of Machu Picchu, its conquering by Spain's Pizarro; its discovery (of sorts) by Hiram Bingham III; it's an historical telling of Hiram Bingham the Yale professor, explorer, author and politician and it's a humorous travelogue, a telling of a modern day exploration of the original route of Bingham and then later, walking the Inca Trail.
All told, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Mark Adams' self-deprecating humor had me laughing out loud at times. His Australian guide, John Leiver, suffers a severe eye injury (the eyeball actually bled!), and while John is pretty stoic about the whole thing, Mark believes that if it were he who'd suffered the same injury: "I suspect that I'd have been forcibly immobilized and given an injection of morphine that William Burroughs might have waved off as too risky."
When John finds he didn't have his knife and Mark is able to come to the rescue, John remarks, "That's good preparation, Mark. Nice sharp blade on it, too." Mark then writes: "It was, I'm not ashamed to admit, one of the proudest moments of my life."
If Machu Picchu interests you at all, you will enjoy this book.
All told, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Mark Adams' self-deprecating humor had me laughing out loud at times. His Australian guide, John Leiver, suffers a severe eye injury (the eyeball actually bled!), and while John is pretty stoic about the whole thing, Mark believes that if it were he who'd suffered the same injury: "I suspect that I'd have been forcibly immobilized and given an injection of morphine that William Burroughs might have waved off as too risky."
When John finds he didn't have his knife and Mark is able to come to the rescue, John remarks, "That's good preparation, Mark. Nice sharp blade on it, too." Mark then writes: "It was, I'm not ashamed to admit, one of the proudest moments of my life."
If Machu Picchu interests you at all, you will enjoy this book.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
hope to return to it later but just couldn’t get into it
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
This was the first time I’ve read a travel memoir/history book (if that’s even a commonly reoccurring genre hybrid). I did a semester abroad in Peru in college, and the feeling I got visiting Macchu Pichu always stuck with me, which is why I picked up this book.
The author does a very good job making a memoir an enjoyable read without being dry. The fact that the author, Mark, has never slept in a tent before and is taking on this ambitious expedition through the rarely tread mountainous region in Peru offers some comedic moments and makes the reader feel more involved in the journey.
The chapters alternate with the story of Hiram Bingham, the man who is credited with finding Macchu Pichu. I had never heard of him, so I enjoyed his story as well as the smattering of Inca history throughout.
There is a lot of good information in this book. I found myself shocked that I had never heard of a lot of the interesting historical and geographical content. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of how the mountain cities align with each other in the path of the sun in the solstice.
This book did fall short of my expectations in a few places. The author is obsessed with Hiram Bingham who inspired his trip, but we never fully get an explanation of why, which I thought might come out further into the story. The idea was that the author wanted to follow Bingham’s steps because he was intrigued by Bingham’s theory about the purpose of Macchu Pichu, however while retracing his steps, Mark doesn’t seem to come up with any new revelations compared to Bingham. I also thought the part where they hike the Inca trail was glazed over too quickly. There are also a lot of names of people and places thrown around throughout the book, and I definitely could’ve used some reminders on which name referred to which site.
The ending of the book seemed a little anticlimactic, but I suppose that’s kind of how it is when you get back from some huge life changing trip and you go back to every day life.
All in all though, this was a very good book. In terms of a historical memoir hybrid, it was much quicker paced than I expected. It held my interest, entertained me, and taught me some more about the history of a country I have an interest in. It’s definitely a fun book to read if you are planning to travel to Macchu Pichu or if you have an interest in Peru, ancient civilizations, or the like.
The author does a very good job making a memoir an enjoyable read without being dry. The fact that the author, Mark, has never slept in a tent before and is taking on this ambitious expedition through the rarely tread mountainous region in Peru offers some comedic moments and makes the reader feel more involved in the journey.
The chapters alternate with the story of Hiram Bingham, the man who is credited with finding Macchu Pichu. I had never heard of him, so I enjoyed his story as well as the smattering of Inca history throughout.
There is a lot of good information in this book. I found myself shocked that I had never heard of a lot of the interesting historical and geographical content. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of how the mountain cities align with each other in the path of the sun in the solstice.
This book did fall short of my expectations in a few places. The author is obsessed with Hiram Bingham who inspired his trip, but we never fully get an explanation of why, which I thought might come out further into the story. The idea was that the author wanted to follow Bingham’s steps because he was intrigued by Bingham’s theory about the purpose of Macchu Pichu, however while retracing his steps, Mark doesn’t seem to come up with any new revelations compared to Bingham. I also thought the part where they hike the Inca trail was glazed over too quickly. There are also a lot of names of people and places thrown around throughout the book, and I definitely could’ve used some reminders on which name referred to which site.
The ending of the book seemed a little anticlimactic, but I suppose that’s kind of how it is when you get back from some huge life changing trip and you go back to every day life.
All in all though, this was a very good book. In terms of a historical memoir hybrid, it was much quicker paced than I expected. It held my interest, entertained me, and taught me some more about the history of a country I have an interest in. It’s definitely a fun book to read if you are planning to travel to Macchu Pichu or if you have an interest in Peru, ancient civilizations, or the like.