From Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Lourie has taken his readers along on his water journeys up the Amazon, down the Hudson, along the Yukon and the Rio Grande, and through the Erie Canal and that "river of grass," the Everglades. Here, in a decided change, he relates how years ago he was infected with a serious case of gold fever. Lured by legends surrounding a portion of Atahualpa's ransom spirited away from the gold-greedy Spaniards, Lourie, in company with a local crew, entered the remote, rugged Llanganati Mountains of Peru-a craggy wilderness covered with thick cloud forest, quaking bogs, and treacherous fogs, where altitude sickness sapped his energy. Needless to say, the rumored 750 tons of worked gold still lies (if it truly exists) concealed in the Llanganatis. A revisit to the locale years later prompted this fascinating book, an Indiana Jones-mix of history, lost treasure, and visions of wealth. The readable text is accompanied by color photos on almost every page. Team this with Tim Wood's pictorial The Incas (Viking, 1996) and Johan Reinhard's remarkable Discovering the Inca Ice Maiden (National Geographic, 1998) for a marvelous look at a vanished civilization.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Once again, Lourie (Rio Grande, p. 224, etc.) will fire readers' imaginations with his search for lost Inca gold, on a trek through the high mountains of Ecuador. As in his other adventures, Lourie skillfully links history with his real-life quest; so powerful is his narrative style that readers will fully expect him, toting a 16th-sixteenth century treasure map, to uncover the 750 tons of Inca gold, ransom for the Inca king hidden somewhere on the volcano ``Beautiful Mountain.'' Despite a great effort, Lourie does not find the treasure, but few reading this account will doubt it exists. He concludes: ``I picture myself traipsing though the beard of the world to the treasure mountains, to that mysterious land of the Inca where the great treasure of the Sun King lies buried still.'' He thoughtfully includes the treasure map he followed so that would-be adventurers can attempt their own hunt. Full-color photographs of Inca gold, period illustrations, and contemporary photographs of Lourie and his companions enhance the title throughout. (glossary, index) (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
Think of 750 tons of gold and silver--literally a king's ransom intended as barter for the life of a god-king. Think of an ancient treasure guide, and ponder whether it was intended as a true map or as cunning misdirection. Think of swirling fog, quicksand bogs, treacherous crevasses, and dense overgrowth that frustrate treasure hunters. This isn't R.L. Stevenson, but the real-life adventure of author Lourie, who followed the tantalizing path suggested by centuries of Inca and Spanish lore, a guide written by Spanish solder Valverde who claimed to know the location of the hidden cache, and an old Swiss treasure hunter who boasted that he simply needed "the Ecuadorian Army to help him dig the gold out from under tons of mud." Lourie recounts how he employed the services of three seasoned guides to lead him high into the Andes; plagued by mosquitoes, biting ants, and doubts concerning the reliability of Valverde's directions, he finally succumbed to altitude sickness and had to descend without discovering a glimmer of the gold. But he did return with a ripping good yarn to tell (in which he portrays himself as part heroic adventurer, part possible dupe, and part outlander who's clearly not fit for the rigors of mountaineering) and some breathtaking photographs of the mist-shrouded volcanic peaks. This should be a hot pick for armchair travelers, and it could make a terrific tie-in for a unit on Amerindian culture. -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 1999
