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Along the Inca Road: A Woman's Journey into an Ancient Empire by: Karin Muller |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 918.044 EAN: 9780792276852 ISBN: 079227685X Label: National Geographic Manufacturer: National Geographic Number Of Pages: 304 Publication Date: October 31, 2000 Publisher: National Geographic Release Date: September 01, 2000 Studio: National Geographic Sales Rank: 308047 Browse for similar items by category:
Editorial Review: From Amazon.com: What's an American woman doing shaking a pink cape at a bull on a hillside in Peru? Ask Karin Muller, a self-described vagabond who is game for anything, especially if it's a traditionally male task in strictly sex role-divided South America. After years of contemplating the thin red line of the Inca Road on her map of the world, Muller takes off with a grant from the National Geographic Society (which also supplied a cameraman) for a six-month jaunt through Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Chile. Along the way, she searches for remnants of the ancient stone-paved road and jumps headfirst into whatever adventure she can find. First stop, a cuy doctor whacks her on the back and head with a whimpering guinea pig, then offers her a diagnosis based on the quality of the animal's intestines. She's tear-gassed in an indigenous antigovernment protest, and dresses in an orange cloak, gold sparkles, and black face paint (a concoction made of tar and animal fat) to pull a 200-pound roast pig during the Festival of Mama Negra. In a surreal moment, she witnesses the mysterious crash of a Brazilian military helicopter in the Andean highlands, and in a horrific one, crawls through a mole-like tunnel deep into a mountainside where men spend years digging for gold, leaving only to eat, wash, and haul their ore 423 steps to a giant crushing machine. She even watches a military crew clear live mines planted by Peruvians during the Ecuador-Peruvian border war. Throughout her adventures, Muller weaves a lively history of the rise and fall of the Incan empire. While the old road is hard to find, the Incan legacy is everywhere, from curanderismo (shamanism) to roundups of golden-fleeced vicunas by villagers spread in human chains to the farming of coca leaves. Her explication of the coca tradition is particularly interesting: the "quintessential Andean sacrament" and the ultimate marker of indigenous identity, chewing coca leaves is akin to sharing a cup of coffee. Of course, she also joins a Bolivian special forces drug patrol in the Amazon to see the more familiar face of cocaine. While Muller doesn't slow down long enough for introspection or much genuine human connection (and you have to occasionally wonder about her cultural sensitivity), she does have a remarkable knack for putting herself in the middle of events, and an unflagging enthusiasm for taking risks most tourists wouldn't dream of. --Lesley Reed Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - I don't really know why I didn't like this book that much...The strange thing about this book is that theoretically everything's fine about it - looking for and at the remains of a fascinating culture, the author taking part in the local rituals and daily life, writing of acceptable quality. It should be grand - and still I don't like it for some reason. What made this book quite tiresome was Karin Muller's lack of a sense of humor. It is my firm belief that it is very hard to write a breathtaking book about a difficult journey without being able to see the funny side of different situations. Perhaps that was why I can't say I like the author as a person - and since this book is based on her personal experiences, that itself takes away from the fun of reading this book. Also - as another ... Read More: Rating: - interesting story about an interesting placethis is such an interesting place in the world- my wife an I visited it a couple of years ago. Inca history is remarkable, and the area is incredibly beautiful, but life is hard there. Karin describes bith very well in this very interestin book. If you are planning to travel there, you really should read this book Rating: - Take a walkA book review It is safe to say that although there are many travel opportunities available today, the majority of people on this planet will seldom stray far from their home roots. Some may take a trip here or there but in the main, few casual travelers (of the several billion earth occupants) will go very far away. All of this is to say that though we may not go ourselves, we can travel to far away places by motion pictures, video and, of course by reading books by those who have gone to the places that, for many people, will never be on their travel agenda. Karin Muller does this as she traveled "Along The Inca Road," which is the name of her book, published in 2000 by the National Geographic Society of ... Read More: Rating: - Wonderful romp through a significant part of South America.Muller is a wonderful travel writer with the ability to make even the mundane come alive. Her way with words ("The main square was full of Saturday-night drunks all walking like wobbly bowling pins") keeps you reading on to find out where she will land next, and among whom. From helicopter crashes to street festivals, Karin Muller follows this ancient road, and allows serendipity to play its hand. She encounters not only the absurd and strange (having your head beaten with a guinea pig to find out your disease or ailment), but the beautiful and sublime ("people who reached out to help a stranger through a day of violence and despair"). Her travels follow the famed Inca Road. This ancient highway reached from ... Read More: Rating:  - You won't be able to put it downAlong The Inca Road is a fresh and exciting experiential travel documentary written by a woman who follows a route of the ancient Inca Road from Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile, along the mountains and coast of western South America. Her experiences are immediate, vivid, demanding and colorful. She clearly enjoys the challenge of dipping into and sampling all aspects of local culture. We are with her as she learns to pilot a caballero (reed boat) on the coast of Peru, carries the feast table of Mama Negra in Lacta Cunga, and climbs endless roads and trails to meet the people. Along The Inca Road is a book about the author's experiences with the people as much as about geography and history. After many hair-raising, sometimes hilarious, ... Read More: |
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