Description
While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa's ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler's murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes.
Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa's ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie's account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.
About the Author
Peter Lourie is a lecturer in creative writing at Middlebury College. His many books include River of Mountains: A Canoe Journey Down the Hudson and In the Path of Lewis and Clark: Traveling the Missouri.
Reviews
"Lourie has written a vivid and readable account of his own search for this treasure, and of the characters of the other treasure-hunters he meets, all shedding earthly sweat and tears as they search for their celestial equivalents. Readers of travellers' tales and adventures will doubtless get a good deal of pleasure from this book."--British Bulletin of Publications,. No. 101, October 2000 "The book is sheer excitement... Tastes of ... the intoxicating thrill of treasure hunting reward the appreciative reader."--Booklist. "A rich tapestry of characters of several nationalities that often reads like fiction... A fine treasure-hunting book."--Library Journal. "The farther I read, the more deeply engrossed I found myself."--Joseph Heller.
Book Information
ISBN 9780803279803
Author Peter Lourie
Format Paperback
Page Count 307
Imprint Bison Books
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
Weight(grams) 440g
