The Modern Scholar

The Incas: Inside an American Empire

By: Professor Terence N. D'Altroy

Narrated by: Terence N. D'Altroy

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

In the land of Tawantinsuyu (The Four Parts Together) the Incas reigned in the late 15th century over the greatest empire ever seen in the independent Americas. Their territory included parts of the present-day countries of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Yet we know little of these people, especially from firsthand written accounts.

This course introduces the Incas, a small ethnic group from the southern Peruvian highlands, who forged a civilization rich in material and culture and expanded their domain to control large expanses of territory in a short period of time through diplomacy, enculturation, and military force.

A Powerful Story and a Potent Legacy

The story of the Incas is a powerful one, and their legacy remains a potent influence in the Andes of South America. In this insightful lecture series, Columbia University professor Terence D'Altroy focuses on Inca life at the height of the empire, the society's origins, its military, religion, ruling structure, and finally, the Inca legacy today.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2004 Terence N. D'Altroy (P)2004 Recorded Books

ok, but a bit too didactic

This is more a book addressed to students that need to learn about the different aspects of the Incas civilization for a specific exam, than to "average Joe" interested to learn about the history of a great civilization in all its vibrant aspects . The clash with the Spaniards and the end of the Incas empire is dealt quickly in the last chapter , almost as it was an addendum to the details of the religious ceremonials or of the variety of the Incas pottery.
The recording (and at times the reading) of prof D'Altroy is at times poor ; not a big deal, but gives a sense of sloppiness

Interesting topic told in a less interesting way

Some parts were very interesting, other parts were told in a way that made it difficult to follow. There are also 2 or 3 mistakes in cutting of the audio book, which do not make the material unintelligible, but still, shouldn't be there.
All in all, it's not a bad audio book, but there are better pieces from Modern Scholar.

When to hire a professional Narrator 101

The author’s knowledge of ancient Inca culture is most impressive but he fails to deliver it - in an interesting manner – to his audience. Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs for example, was written and presented extremely well by Barbara Mertz and Lorna Raver respectively. This audio book was extremely difficult to listen to and there were moments where I literally dreaded to switch it on. A note to Modern Scholar – Please hire professional narrators!

I was planning to travel to Peru this year but have postponed it in favour of Greece. The reason being that this audio book has put me off Peru and I need time for it to be diluted from my memory. Machu Picchu, don’t go anywhere.

Some editing hiccups

The lectures were interesting and well-presented. However, there were a couple of places where there seemed to be an editing problem and almost the same thing was said twice in a row.

Ok

This was fine as an introduction, but there was very little discussion of differing theories or interesting stories.

A Fleeting Empire

As a resident of the Andes, I thought I’d better learn a little more about the Incas, whose legendary empire encompassed immense portions of South America and established monumental cities and road systems—but really lasted only a century in its full imperial incarnation.

Terence D’Altroy knows his Inca (and pre-Inca) history, and his lectures are lively and articulate. The recording does have some editing errors causing repetitions, and the droning “announcer” before and after each section, with the contrived insertion of one question from an unheard student, recalls the most deadly of voices from the old days of classroom films. But that is cosmetic, and overall, this very accessible series of lectures offers more than almost anyone could wish to know about the lightning rise and dizzying fall of one of the greatest and briefest of the world’s dynasties.

Original, or ....?

I just finished this lecture and this morning started to listen to Charles Mann's "1491." About three hours into the Mann book, I thought I'd somehow pressed a repeat button, because I was hearing the exact words I'd heard yesterday - until I remembered that yesterday I was listening to D'Altroy's lecture, not Mann's book. Coincidence? I think not.

Interesting, comprehensive intro to the Incas

This is pretty well-written, well-researched, and comprehensive; as written a great introduction to the Incas with just enough scholarly discussion of reliability and ambiguity of the numerous source materials. Both "traditional" and modern scholarship on the Incas are well-represented. Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about the Incas, for anyone who wants to brush up, or for Andeanists who might be familiar with all this, but still find having it whispered in their ear comforting.

The recording itself has various problems, such as repeated sections, but nothing too terrible. The reading is not bad, but seems a bit like the recording process was rushed and a little uncomfortable for Dr. D'Altroy. The pronunciation of Quechua words is surprisingly horrible for someone who spent years doing fieldwork in central Perú.

So... give it a listen! If you have knowledge of Quechua just laugh a bit; if you don't, please don't use this as a reference for its pronunciation!

Good but not outstanding

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

knowledgeable

What did you like best about this story?

Good content, but not as analytic or thematic as I would have liked

What about Terence N. D'Altroy’s performance did you like?

Well spoken and articulate

Essential

After reading this books reviews I was curious if I would be wasting my money In buying it. I needed something for my upcoming trip to Machu Picchu so I decided to give it a shot (good decision). One of the things that I liked about this lecture series was the size, 14 lectures. I needed a quick listen because I had booked my trip on the fly and time was running out, most of this would be listened to in airports and planes.

So the audio book was fine to Fantastic, and It was worth the purchase. I
think there may be a difference in my review because of my mission, as a
trained areonautical engineer you focus on mission and when reviewing this I needed: backgrund on the incas, background on cuzco, background on the inca trail, cultural understanding and the inca story.

I think this is a tall order for any lecture series! However, the book delivered on it all, as I sit in my Lima hotel room Getting ready for my last day out in the city of kings, before heading to the states, I had to pause and give the author a "Very Well Done." My trip Peru would not have been the same without this lecture series.

The material was clear, interesting and kept my attention, moreover it was needed as the storys you will get told from guides will vary and you need a baseline. When I travel I like to have the history on a place, So if you plan on doing a little research on a trip and want the benefit of a person that is obviously very educated on the topic then get this audio book, if you just like to learn get this book. Personally I find learning very entertaining. While the lecturer could have been a better storyteller it was not bad, not bad at all. I strongly recommend this title.