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The
Machu Picchu Guidebook: A Self-Guided Tour
by Ruth M. Wright, Alfredo Valencia Zegarra. There are some things in
life that appeal mainly to the connoisseur: others you would have to
have a heart of stone not to be touched by. Machu Picchu belongs to
the latter category.
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Lonely
Planet Peru
(5th Ed.2004) by Rob Rachowiecki
This could be your daily, if not hourly, guide. Excellent.
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 Insight
Guides Peru by Tony Perrottet (Editor), Eduardo Gil (Photographer)
Beautiful photos and informative text. More a souvenir.
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 The
Ancient Kingdoms of Peru
by Nigel Davies Archaeologist and Incan expert Nigel Davies
offers astonishing revelations about the remarkable empire of the Incas
and the civilizations that preceded them. From the desert at Nazca to
the great coastal civilization of Chimor, this compelling overview makes
accessible the latest research on all the ancient kingdoms of Peru. |
 Peru
Handbook (4th Ed) by Alan Murphy & Ben Box.
Guidebook highly recommended by travellers we met. |
 The
Rough Guide to Peru 5th edition (October 23, 2003) by Dilwyn
Jenkins
A guidebook recommended by many for trekking the Andes, exploring
Machu Picchu and visiting Lima safely. |
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 Fodor's
Peru, 1st Edition (Fodor's Peru) by Paul Eisenberg
I've always liked Fodor's and this book is typical, good info, well
organized, and geared to the average tourist. Lonely Planet is great
but geared more for the student aged tourist - which I am not! |
 Stones
in the Road : Photographs of Peru
by Nubar Alexanian
"... great empathy with the people he photographs--his main
subject-matter" - The British Bulletin of Publications
"... tonally rich photos ... a breath of contemplative art in a
fast-forward video world - The Boston Globe |
The
Hidden Amazon : The Greatest Voyage in Natural History
by Richard L. Lutz
This book gets several raves on the Amazon review-site. |
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 The
3 Halves of Ino Moxo
by Cesar Calvo, Kenneth A. Symington
When Manuel Cordova-Rios was 13 years old, a tribe of Amahuaca
Indians kidnapped him; he adopted the name Ino Moxo (Black Panther)
and eventually became high priest of the hallucinogenic powers of the
ayahuasca plant used in religious ceremonies. Calvo's quest to the inner
sanctum of the shaman's domain resembles the mystical journeys of Carlos
Castenada.
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The
White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland
by Hugh Thomson.
So entertaining and appealing is Thomson's story of his exploration
of the Inca empire that readers will wish they could take off and follow
in his footsteps. The British documentary filmmaker relates his travels
20 years ago deep into the Inca empire, through the high Peruvian Andes
and Bolivia. |
 Amazon
Dream (1st Ed) by Roberta Allen
Allen's tale of her journey in the Peruvian Amazon is intriguing
but strangely detached from the natural wonders she sees and the people
she meets. Allen witnesses--and describes in clear, visual terms--the
secret life that teems both above and below the surface of the forest,
yet her tone seems curiously superficial in light of her claim that
she had always fantasized about the Amazon.
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 Andean
Lives: Gregorio Condori Mamani and Asunta Quispe Huaman
by Gregorio Condori Mamani, Carmen Escalante Gutierrez, Paul H. Gelles,
Gabriela Martinez Escobar, Eulogio Nishiyama.
Exploited and reviled by local power holders, neglected by the state,
and silenced by dominant cultural discourses, the voices of this cultural
majority are seldom heard in Peruvian or Latin American literature.
For Gregorio and Asunta, however, that silence was broken when Peruvian
anthropologists recorded their life stories. The resulting narrative
has become a classic introduction to the lives and struggles of the
"people" of the Andes.
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Cusco
& the Inca Trail. Footprint Ed. "So well written
it is difficult to put this book down...If you are spending only one
day in Cusco and one day in Machu Picchu the book's details will enrich
your trip. If you are hiking the Inca Trail...this book is essential."
--International Travel News (USA) "An excellent guide...offers
a wealth of wise advice." --Toronto Star (Canada) "...really
excellent. You cover everything from Inca history to flora and fauna..."
--John Hemming "You need a guide. To be precise you need this one."
--The Sunday Times (UK) "Comprehensive guide." --The Daily
Telegraph (UK)
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 Masters
Of The Living Energy: The Mystical World Of The Q'ero Of Peru
by Joan Parisi Wilcox
Known as the "keepers of the ancient knowledge" the Q'ero
Indians of Peru are the most respected mystics of the south-central
Andes. The Q'ero are known for having preserved the Inca spiritual tradition.
In 1996 Joan Parisi Wilcox travelled to the Andes and was able to record
the mysteries of the Kawsay Pacha, the multidimensional world of living
energy, through more than 40 hours of intensive interviews with six
Q'ero paqos, masters of the ancient spiritual traditions of Peru.
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 Ayahuasca:
The Visionary and Healing Powers of the Vine of the Soul
by Joan Parisi Wilcox
Ayahuasca: The Visionary and Healing Powers of the Vine of the Soul
is an autobiographical account of the author's work with ayahuasca,
a potent and sacred plant brew of the Amazon region that is known for
its extraordinary visionary and healing powers. |
 The
Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics
(Paperback))
by Orin Starn, Carlos Ivan Degregori, Robin Kirk
"This book is as indispensable for the first-time visitor to Peru
as for the serious student of Latin American history and culture."--Michael
F. Brown, author of War of Shadows: The Struggle for Utopia in
the Peruvian Amazon MORE
INFO and Excerpts
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 Death
in the Andes Mario Vargas Llosa
Ancient and modern horrors mingle in Vargas Llosa's somber yet oddly
zestful novel, the most direct examination the Peruvian writer has made
of a Latin American nation's complex political problems since The War
of the End of the World and The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta.
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|  The
Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey
by Ernesto Che Guevara
These travel diaries capture the essence and exuberance of the young
legend, Che Guevara. In January 1952, Che set out from Buenos Aires
to explore South America on an ancient Norton motorcycle. He encounters
an extraordinary range of people -- from native Indians to copper miners,
lepers and tourists -- experiencing hardships and adventures that informed
much of his later life.
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The
Monkey's Paw: New Chronicles from Peru
by Robin Kirk
Combining interviews and personal narrative, the author presents a
portrait of the turbulent history of Peru, starting in 1983 when the
Shining Path guerillas plunged the country into crisis. She explores
why so many Peruvian women felt compelled to join the terrorists. |
Chronicle
of San Gabriel Julio Ramon Ribeyro.
It explores an isolated rural Peruvian community from the perspective
of a city dweller. After his mother's death, Lucho, a teenager, is sent
from Lima to stay with his relatives at the San Gabriel hacienda. There
he witnesses the provincial customs of an agrarian community. He is fascinated
by his manipulative young cousin, with whom he develops a tortuous relationship.
The novel is a testimony to the decay of the large Peruvian landed estate. |
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Deep
Rivers
by Jose Maria Arguedas, Frances Horning Barraclough
(Translator)
"An essential part of the canon of the new Latin American literature."
New Yorker
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José María Arguedas is one of the few Latin American
authors who loved and described his natural surroundings, and he ranks
among the greatest writers of any time and place. He saw the beauty
of the Peruvian landscape, as well as the grimness of social conditions
in the Andes, through the eyes of the Indians who are a part of it.
Ernesto, the narrator of Deep Rivers, is a child with origins in two
worlds. |
The son of a wandering country lawyer, he is brought up by Indian servants
until he enters a Catholic boarding school at age 14. In this urban
Spanish environment he is a misfit and a loner. The conflict of the
Indian and the Spanish cultures is acted out within him as it was in
the life of Arguedas. He commited suicide in Lima in 1967.
Read one of his short stories: The
Pongo's Dream |
The
Great Ceviche Book
by Douglas Rodriguez, Laura Zimmerman
Nina Zagat, Zagat Guides
"The most important Latin chef in the restaurant world."
Ever the innovator, Douglas Rodriguez was the first American chef
to give ceviche the attention it deserves, creating such signature
dishes as Spicy Shrimp Ceviche with Popcorn and the decadent Squid
Ceviche in Black Ink Sauce. His New York restaurant, Chicama, is a
temple to the bright, clean flavors of this remarkably simple dish,
and patrons crowd around the ceviche bar to marvel at the day’s
offerings.
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See
Also our MUSIC section and NEWS
on Peru |
The
Art of Peruvian Cuisine
by Tony Custer, Miguel Etchepare This is the most widely sold Peruvian
Cuisine book in Perú. Has the original recipies of the best restaurants
in Lima.
Buy it and impress your friends with delicious dishes. Very easy to
use, the instructions are clear, structured and easy to follow. The
pictures are outstanding.
A Must Have if you are into serious cooking. it.
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