Realm of the Incas is a celebration of the extraordinary diversity at the heart of Tihuantinsuyo, or 'Land of the Four Quarters,' as the Inca Empire was known before its conquest in 1533. Max Milligan's book charts a journey of breathtaking beauty, from the sacred snows of the Andes down into the virgin Amazon rainforest, encompassing the most richly biodiverse area on the planet.
At the centre of the region stands Cuzco, meaning literally 'The Navel' to its founders, and today acknowledged as the archaeological capital of South America and a World Heritage Site. Within a single day's drive to Cuzco are eight distinct climates and habitats; and the myths, beliefs and customs of the inhabitants of these areas are equality diverse. In the highlands, remote communities still farm llamas and alpacas in medieval style, while the islanders of Lake Titicaca use solar panels to generate their electricity. Beyond the gaze of eco-tourists, deep in protected reserves, the rainforests of Madre de Dios support tribes of native Indians pursuing a stone-age existence.
Max Milligan has left virtually no stone unturned in his explorations; whether recording the icy source of the Amazon, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Fitzcarraldo's trade routes or the cactus forests of Apurimac, his passion and determination to do his subject justice shine through. With its magical photography and lively text, endorsed in the foreword by John Hemming (whose own definitive work The Conquest of the Incas was described in The Times as 'superbly vivid history distinguished by formidable scholarship'), Realm of the Incas is, quite simply, the culmination of Max Milligan's fifteen-year love affair with Peru's fabled Inca Region.
. NOTA: El libro no está en español, sino en inglés.
Max Milligan was born in 1965 and educated at Millfield. He first visited Peru in 1985 with Operation Raleigh; returning in 1986 with a 16mm cine camera, he spent most of the next five years based in Cuzco and the Tambopata rainforest, where his activities included scuba-diving in search of Inca relics with National Geographic, charging around on horseback in a suit of armour for a Smithsonian Institution documentary, guiding eco-tourists in the jungle, filming documentaries and setting up Cuzco's now legendary Cross Keys pub.
After a two-year spell in London working as a film editor for the BBC and Channel Four, he held his first photographic show in 1993. Subsequent exhibitions have led to special commissions from the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) and the Household Cavalry, who gave him a free rein to photograph the regiment in an abstract manner.
Renowned for his painterly eye, Max's work hangs in major collections and institutions, including Deutsche Bank. His first book, Circles of Stone, a study of the prehistoric rings of Britain and Ireland, was published to widespread critical acclaim in 1999. His work and future projects can be seen on www.maxmilligan.com.
