‘A
mountain of a book… but there is nothing arduous about
the reading of it: the hard work has all been done by John
Hemming. It is a superb work of narrative history…’
(Antonia Fraser, Financial
Times)
‘It
is a delight to praise a book of this quality which combines
careful scholarship with sparkling narrative skill…
and brims with fresh facts and insights.’ (Philip
Magnus, The Sunday Times)
‘A
large-flying work of scholarship crammed with knowledge and
informed with tremendous enthusiasm… Mr Hemming goes
straight back to the tradition of fine story-telling coupled
with fine scholarship.’ (Peter Shaffer,
BBC radio review, and in The Listener)
‘An
impressive work, a superbly vivid history distinguished by
formidable scholarship, uncluttered language, a graphic sense
of the craggy or desolate terrain in which the tragic conflict
took place, and not least a disciplined use of speculation.’
(Dennis Potter, The Times)
‘An
exemplary history of the lingering death of the Inca régime
– long, detailed, admirably narrated and annotated…’
(H D Ziman, The Daily Telegraph)
This
‘lavish book is a labour of love and learning’
(Michael Foot, Evening Standard)
‘Hemming…
brings to his task a thorough command of the sources and the
modern literature, an intimate and detailed knowledge of the
terrain, and a gift of crisp and clear description. He gives
the usual reasons for Spanish success – surprise, superior
armament, and civil war among the Peruvians – but gives
a new and interesting twist to each.’ (J H Parry,
The New York Times Book Review)
‘It
is distinguished by an extraordinary empathy, a feeling of
one’s way into the minds of the 16th-century Spaniards
and Indians… it seizes hold of the imagination. It tells
a dirty story. It makes you wonder why. It should be read.’
(John Leonard, New York Times)
‘The
great merit of John Hemming’s fascinating book is that
he keeps all the complex issues to the fore… the deeper
wonder of the conquest and the deeper horror of its results…
He has written a just, as well as an exciting book.’
(J H Plumb, The Washington Post, and
International Herald Tribune)
‘An
indispensable work for every library – and of course
a pleasure for every armchair adventurer.’ (C
W Ceram)
‘Worthy
successor to Prescott’s Peruvian book... Hemming succeeded
because he did two things which Prescott could not do: he
walked the ground; and employed the sources – especially
Inca sources… To read Hemming’s Conquest was to
be taken by a tireless traveler, scholar and expert guide...
through the deserts, mountains and jungles in which the tragic
conflict raged. Every description… rang with the authority
of one who had spent time there and read everything which
both sides had to say.’ (Ronald Wright, Times
Literary Supplement)
