Machu Picchu

June 1, 2000
Gr 4-7-In relating how and why this commanding settlement was built, Mann recounts the history of the Inka people from their origin as a small Andean tribe in the 13th century to the destruction of their empire after the arrival of Pizarro. She smoothly incorporates Inka legend with information on the culture's social and political organization, religious beliefs, and engineering accomplishments. While the Inkas left much in the way of archaeological remains and artifacts, the author makes it clear that much is still unknown about this civilization. Full-page paintings face pages of text; additionally, there are two full-color photos, a map, and a double gatefold detailing the different areas of the site. Although a couple of the illustrations evoke a sense of the majesty of the location, others, with figures engaged in labor or battle, are oddly static. Still, readers will be fascinated by the narrative. Once again, Mann has written an engaging and accessible introduction to one of humankind's great architectural achievements.-Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2000
In this look at Machu Picchu, the Incan city built in the 1400s between two Andes mountain peaks, Mann speckles a straightforward account of the rise and fall of the Incan people with appreciation for the city's architecture. The book is illustrated with luminous full-page (including one gatefold) paintings showing the polygonal stones painstakingly handcrafted by stonemasons, two color photographs, and a map. Glos., ind.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from July 1, 2000
Gr. 3^-5. Machu Picchu, the religious site sacred to the Incas (or Inkas as it is spelled here), is the hub around which the rest of the Incas' story plays out. The city, up in the sky and between two mountains, was made out of stone carved with primitive tools. After beginning with the discovery of the city by Hiram Bingham in 1911, Mann goes back in time to introduce the Incas. It is Mann's comfortable text that makes this so special. She ably brings the Inca's complicated society into focus. For instance, she begins with a question: How can we ever really understand a culture so wildly different from our own, where people celebrated rocks as sacred, thought strips of finely woven cloth were more precious than gold, administered a vast empire without knowledge of money or writing, and sacrificed children on mountain peaks? And unlike some nonfiction, this really answers the questions readers want to know. In some detail Mann explains how the various parts of the empire were conquered and shaped into a whole, how roads were built and communication was facilitated, the concept and concrete place that was Machu Picchu, and how the end came for the Incas. Oil paintings by Amy Crehore range from prosaic to arresting (the scene of a bloody battle). More striking are the few photographs: a young, mummified child surrounded by possessions; high in the mountains, Machu Picchu in the mist. An exceptionally fine entry in the Wonders of the World series. ((Reviewed July 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)