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The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time Paperback – May 20, 1997

by William Sullivan (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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Step by step, Sullivan pieces together the hidden esoteric tradition of the Andes to uncover the tragic secret of the Incas, a tribe who believed that, if events in the heavens could influence those on earth, perhaps the reverse could be true. Anyone who reads this book will never look at the ruins of the Incas, or at the night sky, the same way again. Illustrations.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Crown
  4. Publication date
    May 20, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.16 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0517888513
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0517888513
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Sullivan holds a BA from Harvard College and a doctorate from the Centre of Amerindian, Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of St. Andrews. He lives in Massachusetts.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Reprint edition (May 20, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0517888513
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0517888513
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.16 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 46 ratings

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William Sullivan

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
46 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Review Guy
5.0 out of 5 stars Werner Herzog: Make this Film
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2006
Verified Purchase
This book is every bit as entertaining as the run-of-the-mill speculative/paranormal UFO-from-Atlantis books with which it is unfortunately cross-listed on Amazon, but the author's scholarly rigor makes it much more satisfying. Sullivan supports his fascinatingly unconventional conclusions with evidence, sound reasoning, and a bit of self-critical skepticism.

But the real charm of this book is the fact that he pursued such a crazy theory in the first place. Behind the scholarship is a "guy-with-a-crazy-dream" human-interest story (e.g. Fitzcarraldo, Field of Dreams). This would make perfect film material for Werner Herzog. To hear the author tell it, he spent several years in the academic wilderness (as well as the Andean wilderness), chasing after the (wholly-unsupported) hypothesis that Incan myth encodes both astronomy and Andean history. To his advisers, this must have sounded a lot like writing a grant to study the pyramids of Mars. For a lesser intellect, this would have been a career-killer and the reader gets the sense that Sullivan knew it. One of the best parts of the book recounts Sullivan's meeting with Owen Gingerich and "the Vatican Astronomer" at the Harvard planetarium. He's clearly terrified that these eminent astronomers will think he's a kook. But when they conclude: "he's done his homework," Sullivan breathes a sigh of relief.

A word of warning: get the hardback. I got the paperback edition and the binding was defective and the first 50 pages fell out the first time I read them.
7 people found this helpful
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Travis Bodick
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read of the mysticism of the Inca
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014
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Great read of the mysticism of the Inca, and an underlying theory of how to decode myths from oral cultures. Great research and presentation that takes you on the authors journey of discovery while it also teaches you about the discoveries and what they mean. Lots of great insight here, and I feel like I learned not only about the Inca, but a number of other cultures and topics as well (some of the lessons and metaphors of this book are easily applied to other traditions as well).

Lots of information here, so I could see some people having a little trouble making it all the way through the book. Some of the astronomy was a bit over my head, as I am not used to many of the terms used, but the author explained things well enough that I could understand most of it regardless of my inexperience with astronomy.

I sometimes lead group trips to Peru to see Machu Pichu and other ruins, and I will hopefully be reading this book a second time before my next visit in a few months - a lot of this information will be very helpful in understanding some of the ruins and myths more deeply!
3 people found this helpful
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velzygirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting! Well concieved ideas!
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2018
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A must read if you are open to expanding your "truths'. Something tells me the author uses more of his brain than the average human.
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elgreco
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2015
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well written, well documented perspective on Incan history. Though a bit on the technical side and well documented, the book presents a challenging and believable set of assertions that make sense. William Sullivan does a very credible and provocative approach to history, speculating some but, overall, presenting a good case for Incan history and the impact of a most remarkable culture. This book helps to substantiate the well-founded argument that our prehistorical cultures were sophisticated and capable peoples.
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Leonard M. Curtis
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2019
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Great merchandise; great price.
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gypsygirl
5.0 out of 5 stars good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2013
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Liked this book, very easy to read and informative. Would recommend to anyone going to Peru on vacation who have an interest in history.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A stellar book for anyone interested in Andean myth and astronomy.
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017
An awesome book. It is an assessment of Andean mythology, cosmology and astronomy using Santana and Dechend's formula for "the technical language of myth", from their book "Hamlet's Mill." (Basically, animals are stars, gods are planets, topographical references are metaphors for locations on the celestial sphere).
Sullivan does a better job of explaining the ideas in Hamlet's Mill than do the original authors. He dispels the common academic belief that the Inca and other Andean cultures did not have names for heavenly bodies other than the Sun, Moon and Venus, pointing out a list of planetary names noted by The Anonymous Chronicler at the time of the Spanish Conquest, as well as other mythical associations (Inca Manco Capac as regent of Jupiter, Viracocha as Saturn, etc.) He uses mythical and astronomical data to determine a date of 650 AD for the event described in some of the Andean flood/cataclysm myths.
All in all I have always found it a fascinating and informative read.
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Steve Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly alternate history
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2002
While this work does not provide absolute or concrete evidence, it does contain enough documented information that a very small leap of faith in the thought process of the Andean populations present in pre-Columbian SA will convince you of the truth of Mr. Sullivan's meritous effort.
Numerous reviews refer to this as an alternate history work, however off hand there is nothing I remember about it necessarily contradicting accepted history. Mr. Sullivan provides diagrams and star charts (which I later verified w/my own software) to solidify his claims. His years of research paid off with a in my opinion a viable answer to one of history's most difficult-to-answer questions. A definate must buy if you are interested in archaeoastronomy or just an extremely interesting read.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

originalisa
5.0 out of 5 stars I will just rubber stamp my seal of approval on it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2015
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I bought it several years ago, only just getting around to writing up my reviews on Amazon purchases. It is still one of the best books on the Incas, an astonishingly good work in fact. I cannot add to what has already been stated in other reviews so will just rubber stamp my seal of approval on it. Five Stars
2 people found this helpful
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Shane Rooney
5.0 out of 5 stars a work of unmitigated scholarship and unabashed brilliance.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2014
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I gave this book 5 stars because it is a work of both genius and love, both being clearly evinced by the author. I can't pretend I 100% comprehended everything on 1st reading, but the implications of what has been uncovered are outstanding. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in kicking down the down the doors of perception.
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R. Sinclair
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2018
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Ah but what is the secret. A Good Read.
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