Life and Death in the Andes: On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries

Summary (from the publisher): Unique portraits of legendary characters along South America’s mountain spine, from Charles Darwin to the present day, told by a master traveler and observer

The Andes Mountains are the world’s longest mountain chain, linking most of the countries in South America. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kim MacQuarrie takes us on a historical journey through this unique region, bringing fresh insight and contemporary connections to such fabled characters as Charles Darwin, Pablo Escobar, Che Guevara, and many others. He describes living on the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, where people still make sacrifices to the gods. He introduces us to a Patagonian woman who is the last living speaker of her language, as he explores the disappearance of indigenous cultures throughout the Andes. He meets a man whose grandfather witnessed Butch Cassidy’s last days in Bolivia and the school teacher who gave Che Guevara his final meal. MacQuarrie also meets the Colombian police officer who made it his mission to capture Pablo Escobar—the most dangerous cocaine king in the world.

Through the stories he shares, MacQuarrie raises such questions as, where did the people of South America come from? Did they create or import their cultures? Why did the Incas sacrifice children on mountaintops—and how did these “ice mummies” remain so well preserved? Why did Peru’s Shining Path leader Guzmán nearly succeed in his revolutionary quest while Che Guevara in Bolivia so quickly failed? And what so astounded Charles Darwin in South America that led him to conceive the theory evolution? Deeply observed and beautifully written, Adventures in the Andes shows us this land as no one has before.

Review: I won a copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway. 

Part travelogue, part history book, this book meanders throughout South America and its rich history. Over the course of the book, the author travels through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. In addition to describing his experiences in each country, including his own research and the characters he meets, each chapter is focused on a different topic relevant to the history of the country. Topics covered include Pablo Escobar, evolution and the Galapagos, Hiram Bingham, the Incas, Che Guevara, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Darwin, and more. 

This book was a great way to learn a little bit about a great many topics. I found each chapter interesting in its own way, but they were short enough that I didn't feel overwhelmed or bored by any one subject in a way I sometimes am by non-fiction works that spend several hundred pages on one discreet topic. For instance, I rarely have found myself interested in the history of South American gangsters and drug lords, yet MacQuarris made them interesting for me. 

My favorite chapters that included the ones that dealt with the ancient history of South America, specifically the Incas. It was fascinating reading the chapter about the mummified remains of the young girl who was a human sacrifice sometime in the mid-fifteenth century (216). I also loved reading about the ancient art and tradition of weaving, which has been maintained today. "Weavings fashioned on looms over two thousand years old on the coast of Peru, for example, had thread counts of more than six hundred threads per square inch - a feat not duplicated anywhere else until Europe's industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, and then only with machines" (192). Another favorite section detailed the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, which are manmade mats of reeds, moored on wooden stakes. Each island can have several families living on it, each within their own one-roomed homes. 

Although I appreciated the narrative frame of basing each chapter on the author's own travels and interests, I was disappointed in the anecdotes shared of the people he met along the way. Although the natives he interviews are not painted negatively, most of the fellow travelers he meets happen to be stubborn creationists, ignorant Phd candidates, and inexperienced hikers. In short, it felt very much as if MacQuarrie has a very low opinion of fellow travelers and tourists. However, overall, the author did an excellent job on this tour through South America. 

Stars: 4