Turn Right at Machu PicchuMark Adams (2011) |
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THE A5 BOOK REVIEWOne of the more interesting times in the history of archaeology and exploration is the story of Yale professor Hiram Bingham III who, in 1911, discovered the ancient city of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains in Peru. These amazing ruins are now one of the world’s most scenic and most desirable tourist attractions, but the reputation of the original discoverer is mixed. Was Bingham a pioneer who should be praised or someone who plundered priceless artifacts and unfairly took credit for the find? In 2008, the journalist Mark Adams decided to investigate by attempting to recreate the original expedition, despite the fact that he had never even so much as slept in a tent. Accompanied by a crusty Australian trip leader and several Peruvian guides, he trekked for many miles from Cusco taking the more difficult path to the lost city, getting the opportunity to see the amazing and beautiful ruins of Vitcos and Vilcabamba and being able to approach his time at Machu Picchu itself with the reverence and appreciation it deserves. His book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu, is a funny and well-written travelogue describing his experience, nicely wound with the history of Bingham’s journey and of the Inca Empire itself.
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ABOUT MARK ADAMSMark Adams is a popular writer for many magazines, including GQ, ESPN Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, the New York Times and Men's Journal, and the author of several books including Mr. America, named by The Washington Post as a Best Book of 2009. His other travel book, Meet Me in Atlantis: Across Three Continents in Search of the Legendary Sunken City, details his quest to learn more about the mysterious lost city. In his latest book Tip of the Iceberg, Adams retraces the 1899 expedition by railroad magnate Edward H. Harriman through the more remote regions of Alaska.
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GREAT QUOTES FROM TURN RIGHT AT MACHU PICCHU“On a globe it looks like a swollen California. Within that space, though, are twenty-thousand-foot peaks, the world’s deepest canyon (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon), unmapped Amazon jungle and the driest desert on earth.”
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