Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams is an adventure travelogue, a history of Peru, Machu Picchu, & various expeditions, and an investigation of allegations against explorer Hiram Bingham III.

As an adventure travelogue, Turn Left is highly successful due to Adams' insightful, clever writing, based on meticulous research, and his subtle, self deprecating humor. The short chapters keep the tale moving along, as do the honest portraits of the More...

Mark Adams’ Turn Right At Machu Picchu was a temporary lapse on my part from my decision to read only Indian writers this year, or books written about India. Whatever, I bought it at an Indian bookstore, so that counts, right? This is one of those books that is so delightful and funny that you find yourself walking around your home following a person who you are reading aloud to. Then you laugh again, and get back at it. But it’s not JUST funny. It’s one of the most approachable books with a ver More...

I was a history major, but never had much interest in South American history - just memorized facts about Cortez, Pissarro, and the lot and forgot all of it after the exam. I always mixed up the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas. I'd never heard of Hiram Bingham. This book changed that. It was a fascinating history/cum travelogue/cum memoir written by Mark Adams, an armchair travel writer who longed for some of the adventures he wrote about but never experienced. He decided to literally follow in Bingha More...

If you've ever been to Macchu Picchu, or thought about going there, reading this book will explain the toughest way to go compared to the Tourist style of travel. Mark Adams took his son there the tourist way, then decided to follow in the steps of Hiram Bingham, the man who first publicized going to Peru to find the lost city. Mark is a travel writer, not a hiker but once his toes bleed from going downhill, he keeps up with his Australian macho guide and porters who have done this trip many tim More...

At the suggestion of a friend who said she "was LOLing" while reading this book and praised it as being written in the manner of Bill Bryon's A Walk in the Woods, I decided to be an armchair traveller to Machu Picchu. Adams does have the same self deprecating style as Bryson; he's an ah shucks writer about his own lack of skill, but let's face it - he made it to all the sites supposedly discovered by Hiram Bingham whose travels of 1911 he decided to follow. Along for the trek and leading the way More...

This is essentially an adventure about an adventures, wherein "outdoor" writer Mark Adams attempts to recreate the steps taken in 1911 by explorer Hiram Bingham, who laid claim to "discovering" the lost Incan empire of Machu Picchu. I saw Adams months ago on The Daily Show hyping this book, and part of what appealed to me at the time was his admission that he couldn't actually remember the last time he slept in a tent. (How this lands him a job as an editor of an adventure magazine may be anothe More...

Recently out in paperback, Turn Right At Machu Picchu is a uniquely charming travel tale. When Mark Adams, a travel editor in New York city decides he needs an adventure of his own he doesn't start small. Instead he heads to Peru to trace the path of Hiram Bingham III, the explorer famous for the discovery of Machu Picchu. Adams, a mostly desk-bound sort, faces the epic journey with charmingly told trepidation. He begins the book by interspersing tales of Bingham's life with sections of personal More...

Reviewed at: Library of Lights
Review date: 15 April 2012
Review link: http://mykindaland.com/?p=508

I’m a huge fangirl of the fictional archeologist cum adventurer, Indiana Jones. And when I requested this book ‘Turn Right at Machu Pichu’, I was expecting something like Indiana Jones to be written within the pages. But boy, was I wrong. There’s nothing like Indiana Jones in there, but I was not disappointed. It was the other way around.

This book is an absolutely delightful read with plenty of quir More...

For most of my life I have been fascinated with Machu Picchu and have always had a desire to hike to this famous lost city of the Inca's. My daughter who is 33 years younger than me hiked to Machu Picchu a few years ago and the two of us have a competitive history of visiting the most locations. I have her beat in states (48 to 46) but she left me in the dust a number of years ago in number of foreign countries visited. I decided to read this book to live my daughter's hike vicariously and perha More...

One hundred years ago on July 24, 1911, explorer and Yale lecturer Hiram Bingham excitedly cabled the US from Peru about his discovery of an ancient site, potentially the “lost city of the Incas.” That site was Machu Picchu, or “the old peak” in the local language of Quechua, a city of architectural grandeur and ancient temples. Now in 2011, his claim is disputed, and he is accused of stealing historical artifacts and trumpeting up a “discovery” of something that was never actually lost. But the More...

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams ✰✰✰✰

After many years as an editor at National Geographic Adventure magazine, Mark Adams decided that he had had enough of sending other writers off to the far reaches of the globe in search of riveting stories from the world’s most inaccessible places. As the hundredth anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s discovery of Machu Picchu loomed, Adams, married to a Peruvian woman and long fascinated with Bingham (thought by many to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones More...

I've read about 80 pages, and the book is fine, but not good enough for me to spend more time on. Adams mixes an account of his travel through the Andes with the story of Hiram Bingham, an explorer once credited with discovering Machu Picchu.

The historical information is mostly pretty interesting, but the Adams's writing about it is kind of bland. The author's own adventure roughing it in Peru is also sort of dull--that's not to say it's the kind of travel I'd want to do, I'm all about hotels an More...

Mark Adams' "Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time" is a book that's a bit hard to classify. All at once, it's a serious (and seriously funny) travelogue; a smart and tightly written history; and an investigative report into the greatest archaeological discovery of the last century.

Author Adams spent time writing and editing for the now defunct National Geographic Adventurer magazine and despite working with and alongside some of the world's hardest core adve More...

An entertaining account of following Hiram Bingham's tracks to Machu Picchu by a former travel editor who is married to a Peruvian woman. He does it Bingham style, with a seasoned Australian guide, muleteers, a cook, bearers, etc. The two narrative skeins mostly weave together well, with his current experiences juxtaposed to Bingham's less politically correct but more free-wheeling ones. He has a slightly annoying habit of telling you what he did before he describes it, so the story is not entir More...

a fun little non-fiction read in the vein of bryson's "a walk in the woods."

mark adams, a magazine editor with a pretty decent CV, decides after years of working for Outdoor magazine that, as he is 41 years old and therefore could die at any minute, an adventure is in order. the adventure he chooses is following in the footsteps of Hiram Bingham III on his 1911 expedition that brought the great Incan ruin of Machu Picchu to the front pages of the US press.

adams is a clever writer with a knack f More...

Mark Adams is a New York-based journalist who decided follow in the footsteps of Hiram Bingham's turn-of-the-century discovery of the lost Inca city of Macchu Picchu by recreating it step-by-step. Adams recruits a Crocodile Dundee-like Aussie named John to guide him through Bingham's many discoveries, and the two become like Felix and Oscar as they travel around Peru.

There were aspects of Turn Right at Macchu Picchu that were funny, interesting, or helpful — I'm currently planning a trip to Peru More...

A very interesting, well researched story of Hiram Bingham (the American credited with discovering Machu Picchu) and the history of the Incas rise and fall. The book begins with the author's own (often humorous) account of his trek through the area. He is on the Inca Trail, piecing together the bits he has researched, attempting to make sense of the points of view of the Incas, the Spanish who tangled with the Incas and Bingham.

Adams gives the reader a great idea of how the Inca culture operated More...

I semi-enjoyed this travel narrative of someone who followed the trail of the (alleged, and disputably) Western rediscover of Machu Picchu (hey, I think I might have finally learned to spell it!!). Some sections just did not hold a lot of interest for me and felt a bit long and drawn-out (although people who are particularly interested in Peruvian history might not agree).

I enjoyed the modern-day travelogue parts, though. It satiated my inner wanderlust--and I know I could never hack all the tr More...

I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Adams' book. Part witty travelogue, part fascinating history, this book was the perfect way to prepare for my upcoming trip to Machu Picchu. I feel as though a good friend, with a journalist's skill, has given me every kind of background necessary to fully appreciate the journey.

I gave it four stars instead of five, because there were some sections where the book did seem to drag. When the travelers were going through several different geo-climate zones in one day, it w More...

Back when I was in grade school, the county librarians used to let me sneak out one book a week from the Adult section, even though I only had a kid's card. (Loved those ladies!) One of the first things I borrowed was a gargantuan book about the Incas and Mayans. So when I saw the title of this, I put a hold on it.

This non-fiction book was not about the ancient culture. Instead, it was the author's travelogue and a detective story about who discovered what and when. Gotta say, it was really int More...

Great book for all those who want to eventually travel to Peru and Machu Picchu and of course, I loved it even more because I have been there so I could picture some of it in my head. I liked the way the author wove his tales in with what Hiram Bingham did back like 100 years ago. It's a bit of American history that we don't learn about in schools here. And on my Peru tour, I was surprised on how much my guide mentioned him. I didn't ask if he "liked" him or not because I just assumed that Peruv More...

Wonderful story. The author is retracing Hiram Binghams's 1911 and 1914-1915 journeys to Peru where he "discovered" Machu Picchu.

He relates Bingham's research & travel as he explains his journey. The author is a travel writer for an adventure magazine in NYC but he is no adventurer so his stories are often funny. For example, in the beginning of his trek he wanted to crawl on all fours. I'm thinking "why didn't I think of that when I trekked the Inca Trail? His description of Machu Picchu is More...

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams - advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley.

In Turn Right at Machu Picchu, Mark Adams tells us about his own trek up to Machu Picchu as well as the history behind its "discovery". I was expecting a travelogue and ended up with something more like a history book with a bit of adventure thrown in. It was a format that I actually enjoyed.

I've often imagined visiting Machu Picchu and the fact that an out of shape man who works behind a desk all day got up More...

I'm not much of a non fiction reader but Machu Picchu is definitely on my "bucket list" so I was interested in reading this book. Adams follows (or tries to) the route/journey of Hiram Bingham - said to be the earliest "western" discoverer of Machu Picchu. There are long sections of history concerning Bingham and his credentials and digressions into the politics of the discovery as well.

It's sad to say but, as with most non-fiction I read, I find myself wanting more of the "cliff notes" and les More...

I first heard about this shortly before taking my own trip to Machu Picchu. There were too many holds on the library's copy for me to get it until recently, but once I finally had it in hand, it proved an engaging read. (Having some personal familiarity with the site certainly helped, too, though now I think I might have to make a follow-up trip.)

Adams does a pretty good job weaving together what is at times three separate stories - the Incas' retreat from the Spanish, Bingham's various journeys More...

In preparation for my second trip to Machu Picchu, I picked up this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The descriptions of Cusco, Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley, as well as Machu Picchu itself, brought memories of my previous trip out of the musty corners of my mind. But it would be an equally worthwhile read for the first-time visitor, whetting the appetite for the adventure that awaits. I feel much better prepared this second time around for having read this book, since the first time I real More...

I have been fascinated with Machu Picchu since I first saw a photo of it (probably in a National Geographic magazine) over 50 years ago; it just knocked my socks off. And I have always hoped to visit it. I only know one person who has actually done it, one of my doctors, who went with her family a few years ago. I pick her brain about her visit during every appointment. She has assured me that, despite health problems, I could handle a visit. But after reading this book, I know that the only way More...

Mark Adams is a New York based writer. A deputy editor at National Geographic Adventure magazine, he assigned and corrected tales of adventure. But the last time he’d camped himself was as a child – in his own backyard. As the hundredth anniversary of Hiram Bingham III’s controversial discovery of Machu Picchu neared though, Mark felt the pull of Peru and so he headed off to explore the same paths that Bingham had taken. His new book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu, follows these twin narratives. An More...

This part travelogue/part history lesson was of interest to me since I hiked the classic Inca Trail in 2008. But as Mark Adams points out in his re-creation of the journeys of Machu Picchu's 'discoverer' Hiram Bingham, there are many Inca Trails. Adams, a travel magazine editor better suited to reviewing other people's adventures rather than embarking on his own, is a talented raconteur who writes briskly and, at times, humourously about his naive approach to hiking some of the world's most dema More...

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

Although he edits travel and adventure magazine for a living and is married to a Peruvian, Mark Adams was more comfortable with hotels and beds rather than tents and sleeping bags and hardly ever traveled outside of Lima while in Peru. But that didn’t stop him from hooking up with one of the best travel guides in South America, a Peruvian mule driver, a cook, a half-dozen mules and a couple of guys to drive them to follow the footsteps of the man who was o More...