The Conquest of the Incas

Just about everyone knows about how Francisco Pizarro, the illiterate conquistador, captured the Inca Atahualpa, demanded a king's ransom in gold and silver, and put his prisoner to death anyway. But that is only the beginning of the tale. The Incas rebelled under Manco Inca and retreated to Vilcaba......more

If like me you only had an approximate idea of what the Spanish conquest of what is modern Peru meant for the local population, this book will shock you. The extent of the harassment and exploitation to which refined, modern Spaniards subjected the Indios surpasses imagination, especially as it is c......more

I read this shortly after visiting Peru and more than anything it made me want to return to explore the country more as well as the rest of South America. The detailed account of the Spanish conquest of the Incas leaves nary a stone unturned in capturing the sequence of events that resulted in the i......more

A truly well-researched and balanced look at the Spanish conquest of Peru that treated the conquered Incas as a noble people and shined a light on both the atrocities and few glimmers of goodness from the Spaniards. Hemming's account explored the best theories of pre-conquest time through the final......more

Although written over half a century ago this is still one of the best books in English and most readable accounts of the long conquest of the Incas. It is a fascinating story and if you want to really understand what happened then Hemming's is one of the best places to start. A dramatic and painful......more