Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: Chronicle of an Incan Treasure: A Chronicle of an Incan Treasure

New
Paperback
1998
$28.61

Eight billion dollars' worth of Inca gold and silver are rumored to be hidden in an unmapped region of the Andes. This is the captivating story of that fabled treasure and the centuries-old spell it has cast on many, including a young American student, Peter Lourie.
While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa's ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler's murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes.
Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa's ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie's account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.

Synopsis

Eight billion dollars' worth of Inca gold and silver are rumored to be hidden in an unmapped region of the Andes. This is the captivating story of that fabled treasure and the centuries-old spell it has cast on many, including a young American student, Peter Lourie.

While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa's ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler's murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes.

Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa's ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie's account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.

$28.61

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 307
Edition: New e.
Publisher: Bison Books
Published: 01 Jun 1998
ISBN 10: 0803279809
ISBN 13: 9780803279803

Media Reviews

Lourie has written a vivid and readable account of his own search for this treasure, and of the characters of the other treasure-hunters he meets, all shedding earthly sweat and tears as they search for their celestial equivalents. Readers of travellers' tales and adventures will doubtless get a good deal of pleasure from this book. --British Bulletin of Publications,. No. 101, October 2000 The book is sheer excitement... Tastes of ... the intoxicating thrill of treasure hunting reward the appreciative reader. --Booklist. A rich tapestry of characters of several nationalities that often reads like fiction... A fine treasure-hunting book. --Library Journal. The farther I read, the more deeply engrossed I found myself. --Joseph Heller.

Author Bio

Peter Lourie is a lecturer in creative writing at Middlebury College. His many books include River of Mountains: A Canoe Journey Down the Hudson and In the Path of Lewis and Clark: Traveling the Missouri.