101 Facts about Peru

A country most people reduce to a single photograph.<BR>>101 facts. Each on a page of its own.

One page, one fact, no prior knowledge required. Sorted into six chapters:

• <BR>- Geography & Nature - Lake Titicaca, the Amazon source, Colca Canyon, the Humboldt Current<BR>- History & Archaeology - Caral, Inca roads, quipu, Chan Chan<BR>- People, Language & Cities - Quechua, chifa, Lima, Iquitos<BR>- Food & Drink - ceviche, pisco, potatoes, quinoa<BR>- Economy, Resources & Records - gold, silver, vicuña wool, blueberries<BR>- Travel, Transport & Everyday Life - combis, mototaxis, altitude sickness, the central railway<BR>

<BR>And yes, the ruins are in here.

But not the way you know them: Machu Picchu was never lost. Families were still farming its terraces in 1911, when Hiram Bingham "discovered" the site for the West.

Checked, not copied.

Every number has been verified against accessible sources. Where sources disagree, you get the range instead of the prettier figure. Where a popular claim is wrong, the text says so - the widespread claim, for instance, that the Peruvian coat of arms shows a condor. It does not: what it shows is a vicuña, a cinchona tree, and a cornucopia.

With a country profile, timeline, glossary, and index for looking things up.

Useless knowledge can be many things. Wrong should not be one of them.