The author of this book knows so much, it seems, he can't get it all into his book.

Without having a firm foundation in early Andean culture, I found this book challenging to digest. It moves through historical terminology at a mind-warping rate. On the other hand, after "stepping back" to read more basic books on the same subject, I realize I've gotten a strong platform of knowledge from Von Hagen. I recommend you read this book only if you plan to read others on the topic, too.

The authors provide a stimulating introduction to urbanism in the Precolumbian Andes. The only problem with this book was that it left me wanting more. Since the book covers the entire history of the Ancient Andes, it cannot devote much space to any specific city or civilization. Nevertheless, there is still more than enough to enthrall. At the start of each chapter on a civilization, there is always a short description of what life would have been like for some inhabitants of a city of that civilization. This provides some extra colour to the book though some technical readers might not appreciate it. My favourite portion was on Tiwanaku, the largest city of the altiplano around Lake Titicaca. The pictures and maps were excellent and greatly enhanced to the book.

This book is one of a few books on the Quetchuan language despite the fact that it is spoken by large numbers of indigenous South American peoples. I found this to be a good general book for some basic knowledge. It is what it says, an "introduction". My goal was to learn a few key frases and the book succeeded in that regard. I would not consider it a scholarly piece of work, however. It is also nice that the tape comes along with it. Even knowing a few words can really set you apart.

Hello, I'm Mark. I'm Dutch and I'm from Peru. I was 2 months old when I was adopted. I now only have my Dutch parents. I want to know my "roots" and therefore I want to speak Quechua. My mother was a Quechua woman from Qosqo (Cusco) and that's why I want to speak Quechua Cusqueño perfecty! I have already written a bit of Ronald Wright's Quechua phasebook, that was a good basic. But speaking it is different. I think this is a very good book, it's unique in it's way. A treasure of words of my ancestors for me. Only (not to the authors!) it seems that there are a lot of dialects and writingforms! for example my name: Lucaña or Lukaña or Loccaña or Luq'aña. How do I have to write my last name? What is THE Qosqo dialect and how do you write it. I think that Judith and Jaime did it very well tot tell the readers that there are many 'k'. Therefore I know that the 'q'(1) in chinchaypuqyo is different than the 'q'(2=H) in Qosqo! But already I hear that even the 'q'(2=H) is different. Peruvians should have a standard writing system based on sounds, every sound a letter! I THINK THAT EVERYONE WHO WANT TO KNOW QUECHUA FOR TRAVEL AND INKAINTEREST TO BUY THIS BOOK! Judith or Jaime, if you read this, would you please can tell me what is the meaning of Lucaña and how do I have to write it. THANK YOU! Amsterdam 03-14-00 Mark Lucaña Champi

This really is a good book even though the language is highly romanticized. It reveals the inherent vices that are imposed on the indigineous people. It's worth reading for the surprise ending.

I read this book while spending a month in a small Peruvian village in the Andes. A village that is far from the tourist path of Machu Pichu. A village that would mirror the mountain community of Killac, the setting for this engaging classic. Killac, is a village that depicts the neglect, backwardness and feudalism that existed in Peru at the turn of the twentieth century, and to some extent still exists today.

"Torn from the Nest" is a brilliant story of love, power, courage, oppression, virtue, incest and deceit written in 1889, and was selected as one of the first volumes in the Library of Latin America, Oxford.

The "Library of Latin America" series makes available, in English, major nineteenth century authors whose work has been neglected in the English speaking world. To be selected as one of the first works by this editorial committee was no small feat, especially when you consider the plethora of writing against which this title competed.

Clorinda Matto de Turner dared to change the demented orthodoxy of the Roman Catholic Church and the oppression of the indigenous Indians by the immoral wealthy gentry, including the village priest. Her anti-clerical tone was unmistakable; so much so, that the Catholic Church in Peru immediately condemned the book and considered it heretical and blatantly irreverent (that was enough to get me to read this book). This condemnation set in motion the persecution of Clorinda Matto de Turner. In the months and years to follow, because of her social, political and religious writings, she was suppressed, oppressed and finally driven from her county.

Though a century has passed, the Indians of Peru are still a oppressed people, held back by lack of education, oppression of culture and language and economic exploitation. This year, for the first time in Peruvian democratic history, a candiate from Inca descent has been elected president of Peru. For those interested in the . Highly Recommended

"If the book is good, is about something that you know, and is truly written, and reading it over you see that this is so." (Ernest Hemingway)

Karen Andes has some great ideas in A Woman's Book of Power. The dance exercises and visualization techniques are superb. Movements are broken down in flowery right-brain and clinical left-brain fashions, which work well independently or in tandem. I have already been using some of her techniques in my own dance and fitness classes, and the students love it.

However, the exercises are only part of the book. The rest of the book appears to preach woman power. As an equalitarian, I find the language of these sections exclusionary. The book is written specifically with women in mind as an audience, but the materials within are of equal validity for men and children. I'm not sure why she labels right-brain thinking as feminine and left-brain thinking as male, but this seems to be the thesis on which this book is based. When Karen Andes waxes philosophical about the "feminine" shapes of circles, spirals, and waves, she falls into the same trap as Freud with his phallic imagery. Even Freud was credited as saying, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Andes notes, "Young women seem instinctively drawn to a tribal way of life. They dress alike, travel in packs, love adornment and ceremony." Somehow, she seems to be overlooking how young men tend to act in the same way, with their similar clothing, tastes in music, and team sports.

When she laments "Would male architects design building not only in blueprints but also with a sensitivity to the ground the building sit on, the curves in a hillside, the angles of then sun?", she ignores visionary architects like Frank Lloyd Wright.

Similar false conclusions are made when she writes, "People will ask, 'What's this Goddess thing? It sounds so trendy.' The answer is simple. No one ever asks if God is a trend." As a secular humanist, skeptic, and agnostic, I beg to differ....

I could nit-pick other details like this for quite a while, but it wouldn't serve much of a purpose. If you are the sort of person who likes to read about the aggrandizement of feel-good femininity, you will most likely enjoy the book. Karen has a lucid, easy-to-follow writing style. If you're a more "masculine" (read, left-brain) thinker, you will enjoy the exercise breakdowns. And yes, men can glean practical information from them, too.

Every woman should read this book, Karen is entertaining and makes exercise fun. She addresses the true feelings of women and their bodies. Dance has never been so fun

The book as a whole is a wonderful ethnographic work. The author vividly paints the Latin American landscape so that the audience is right there with her. It shows a different side of the traditional ideas about Latin American women. It discusses the ideals of racism in Latin America as well as delves into the explaination of it.

Finally a book addressing the pioneering, perils and success of establishing such a great airline has been written. William A. Krusen's book did justice to all of them from the founding fathers to pilots, pursers and stewardesses -the name of flight attendants had not been invented yet-, mechanics, radio operators, baggage handlers, everybody did his or her work very professionally which in the final analysis helped PANAGRA set the standards that so many new airlines tried to emulate.

The book is 200% correct when praising Panagra for having taught Southamericans what transportation by air was all about starting with the acquisition of airplanes, setting up meteorological and radio stations, navigational aids, and most of all setting up very strict safety standards -which according to some well known world figures in the aviation industry it made them the safest and most safety-minded airline ever anywhere in the world. Their culture in spite of having disappeared more than 30 years ago still is there.

The book falls short though in what is a cardinal rule for identifying airplanes, instead of referring to them as P-1 (the first plane to enter the fleet, and so on) the authors should have done a bit more of research so when describing any particular event they should have identified them as lets say N49550 a Hyper DC-3, or N88937 a DC-4, and so on. As you know airplanes, like people, like to be referred to by their "baptism" names, not by their social security number, airplanes also have their own identities, and pride.

Also I would have just loooooved to see color pictures of the various airplanes specially any showing the bright yellow stripes they painted on the wings, 3 on each side for DC-3s and I guess 4 for bigger airplanes.

I would say that the book should have been more balanced in the amount of pages devoted to the various stages the airline wenth through, like for instance it was too heavy on the early times that is from its first flight in the 20s through the 40s, and too short chapters from the 40s on to the fateful day in April of 1967 when J. Peter Grace and Harding Lawrence held a press conference in N.Y. (was it at the Waldorf?) announcing the demise of Panagra, an airline very close to my heart. I was living in N.Y. at that time and I felt betrayed, as if a proverbial stab in the back had been placed on all of us who enjoyed flying PANAGRA.

Other than this, I enjoyed reading it enormously, sufficient would be for me to say that I finished reading it in a couple of nights, and I am going to start my second reading next week.

P.S. Needless to say my first flight just had to be on a Panagra airplane, it was a DC-3 which flew my dad, a sister and me from Quito to Guayaquil in the summer of 1948. I guess she was N30008 or N30014 (too excited to write down the tail number I was)

The Inca culture is a very great sourece for the human being. But until now we do not know it very much. We need more and more information to know the true Inca. How ? The Inca is not only the Inca trail or the Machu Picchu, nor the stone only, The trational food, the music, the festive, their language (not the Spanish) ,all of those are the true Inca culture. But we do not see any one investigate it. What is pachamama? It mean the origin of the earth,the source of the earth,the mother of the earth. Where is the Inca now? We need to know the reeason why it disappeared. Maybe the answers will save our future.

In Search of the Wise One is a true account by the author of his encounter with a sacred South American Brotherhood that passes along ancient wisdom which has been preserved since antiquity. If you have any familiarity with "New Age" theories regarding Lemuria, The Incas and the Pleiades, you will appreciate this book. The book, along with the prequel, pulls together many divergent esoteric theories. The author, although lacking in expository skills, relays valuable esoteric information which, if taken seriously, can quite possibly aid one's quest for enlightenment.

This book has stunning photos of pre-colombian treasures. It's almost like a trip to a museum. Unfortunately, some pieces are enlarged way out of proportion, making scale difficult to gauge. Chapters include several aspects of daily life of the Incas. Also included are photo chapters on several important archelogical sites. A detailed chapter is included on the excavation on the treasures of Sipan from by Walter Alva, one of the principal investigators. This will look great on your coffee table and is a pleasure to page through and read.