Lords of Cuzco : a history and description of the Inca people in their final days [Civilization of the American Indian series, v. 88]

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. First Edition. Cloth. Near fine/very good +. Huaman Poma. A very near fine first edition in a very good plus price-clipped dust jacket. Yellow cloth boards with black box title stamping on spine. Blue topstain with a light streak. Test is clean and bright, binding square and tight. Jacket shows some very mild edge rubbing, and edge wear at crown of jacket. xiii, 458 pages : illustrations, maps. Octavo. Brundage describes Lords of Cuzco as a history of the Inca “caste,” from the beginning of Huayna Capac’s rule to the “ultimate extinction,” set at 1572. As a history of an elite in the last days of its greatness, this volume complements Brundage’s Empire of the Inca (1963), also in the Civilization of the American Indian Series.A fascinating tale of tyranny, intrigue, internal conflict, and finally dissolution in the face of the Spanish conquerors forms the skeleton of Lords of Cuzco. This historical framework is nearly hidden, however, by fanciful detailing of events and long, unintegrated considerations of Inca customs and beliefs. Brundage has tried valiantly to give the reader a real feel for or intimate understanding of Inca culture. Unfortunately the early documents which he has studied so assiduously are limited in scope. One expects that many readers, being only casually interested in the Inca world, will quickly tire of Quechua terminology, the minutiae of social and ritual organization, and Brundage’s difficult prose. The text often lends itself more to impassioned oral recitation than to rapid silent reading." --Thomas Lynch, Hispanic American Historical Review (1968) 48 (4): 680–682.