Machu Picchu takes your breath away.

Perched between two mountain peaks and set in the spectacular high Andes, constructed out of hard granite rock shaped by hand into some of the most intricate stonework the world has ever seen, Machu Picchu is as astonishing as the people that built it.

Using slingshots, clubs, and stone-tipped spears, the Inkas conquered an empire spanning 2,500 miles. Without the use of the wheel, they built a vast and sophisticated network of roads. Without an alphabet, they governed a population of ten million people. With the most primitive of tools, they built Machu Picchu.

Then, suddenly, the Inka's world fell apart.

This is the story of the rise and fall of a great civilization and of the city that reminds us of that greatness.

From the dust jacket