Although this book is listed in the section for travel books, it actually covers a lot more ground than that may suggest. It is the story of the discovery of ancient remains in Peru and the expedition that took place to that end and as such combines travel through the modern country, exploration of the mountains, archaeology of the ruins found and a background history that helps tie the finds with past events. The book was published in this form in 1951 but follows an expedition that took place in 1911 and as such is even of interest to those who like to chart the changing face of exploration and archaeological techniques. Hiram Bingham was an American academic with an adventurous nature and in his efforts to become an explorer managed to persuade National geographic magazine to sponsor an expedition to find lost Inca remains high in the Andes, this book, now regarded as a classic, is the journal of that expedition.
As I said in the opening fragment of this review, the book goes beyond a simple record of the journey that he undertook and the first section of this book is actually a history of the Incas. This section serves as useful guide to what Bingham was searching for and how it fits into the history of South America. After covering some general information regarding the nature of the civilization in question, building techniques, agriculture, language and the like, it then goes on to the specific history of the area in question. Bingham was looking for a place called Vilcabamba, an Inca stronghold known to be high in the mountains but its actual location lost to history. The place was important in the dying months of the Inca Empire as the Spanish conquistadors ravaged, bribed and bullied their way across the map; Vilcabamba was a hidden fortress that never fell to the invaders. If located who knows what would be found there?
The second section of the book is the story of Bingham's actual journey through this mountainous land. The politics and diplomacy of the adventure, the culture and customs that he encountered as well as a detailed record of this passage through this land that seemed not yet to have entered the modern age. Whilst looking for the Inca of 500 years ago he was aware that their modern day descendants surrounded him. As they travelled up into the mountains Inca sites began to appear but it was not until they clambered their way to the almost impossible peak that the most majestic of sites was found. Looking for a small Inca fortress initially, what was found was beyond their wildest dreams. On the highest peak was the site that has since been called Machu Picchu, a city in wonderful preservation, a place that has since become an iconic image of South Americas past civilizations.
The third section of the book is more to do with the archaeological work on the site and it is in this section that most of the books photographs are to be found. Being that the photographs are contemporary to Bingham's expedition, they are in black and white, which is a shame, but colour versions can easily be found elsewhere for those who wish to further their knowledge of the site after reading this book. That said even in black and white the photographs are awesome and maybe more useful from a scientific point of view for the clarity that black and white images deliver. There are a number of maps in the book to help pin point the area in question for those who wish to accurately follow Bingham's footsteps.
For an older book it is surprisingly easy to read. It does smack a bit of the language of a older time in its rigid and proper style, but never so much that it is difficult to follow or overly dry in its approach. It does retain a vivid descriptive style and the way it uses words to paint these pictures is wonderful to behold. Rather than its slightly dated style detracting from the book, i think that it gains something for it, especially when you consider the "boys own" nature of the subject matter. All in all it's a great record of how exploration used to be done a century ago, but still has a lot of value to historians today as it details the finds and the site as it was first found untouched before tourism kicked in and renovation of the site was began. It is also a nice travelogue from the days when there were parts of this world still waiting to be opened up and explored.