Cut Stones and Crossroads: A Journey in the Two Worlds of Peru

Travelling through Peru, tracing the history of the Incas from their royal cities of Cusco & Machu Picchu to their mythic origin in Lake Titicaca, Ronald Wright explores a land of contrasts – between Spanish & Indigenous, past & present, coastal desert & snow-crowned Andes.

Yet Wright is equally interested in the chance encounters of the road. With admiration, humour & a wry anger, he brings to life the complex culture of an ancient land seeking its place in the modern world.

Honours:

A New York Times Notable Book

Editor’s Choice: Christian Science Monitor

Reviews:

“There is so much to praise about this excellent book.”

— Washington Post

“Ronald Wright is a superb travel writer with a vivid historical imagination… [He] describes ‘the two worlds of Peru’ with vigour, enthusiasm, affection & a sad, controlled anger.”

— Dervla Murphy, Times Literary Supplement

“Wright is an acute & indefatigable observer, bound to be compared with Peter Matthiessen & Paul Theroux.”

— Los Angeles Times

“A model of informed & enthralling travel writing…There will be few better books about Peru.”

— John Keay, The Listener

“Wright expertly outlines the politics & culture of a nation struggling to come to terms with the abrupt collapse of one world & the fitful emergence of the next.”

— Globe & Mail

“A marvelous mixture of science & color reporting, antiquities & contemporary politics.”

— Christian Science Monitor