- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (27 Feb 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297645927
- ISBN-13: 978-0297645924
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
490,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #61 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Central & South America > Peru
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
With its rich pre-Hispanic heritage, the Andes and the Amazon, recent years have seen Perú welcoming more than its fair share of adventure tourists. Trial of Feathers tells of Tahir Shah's intriguing journey to uncover what lies behind the remarkable "birdmen" legends--from textiles of ancient cultures from Perú's Atacama Desert showing flying men; and accounts of a 16th-century Spanish monk who stated that indigenous people were able to fly. Travelling in areas overrun by tourists, and then into remote parts of the Amazon, Shah book throws up an unexpectedly powerful mystical heart even in the midst of what is now a familiar country. The climax and focal point is Shah's journey up a remote tributary of the Amazon in search of the Shuar people, who are believed to be descendants of the Atacameño peoples who gave rise to the legends.
No stranger to the magic of distant countries--his previous book, Sorcerer's Apprentice, confronted the magicians of India--Shah's own "flight" leads him to persuasive explanations of both the legends of aviation and of Perú's most mysterious phenomenon, the Nazca Lines. Both erudite and entertaining, Trail of Feathers is a timely book. In writing about secrets from an apparently well-worn destination, Shah restores something of the mystery of distant places in an age when it is possible to believe that most things are seen and known. --Toby Green
Product Description
Enthralled by the chronicle of a 16th-century Spanish monk, which said that the Incas 'flew like birds' over the jungle, and by the recurring theme of flying in Peruvian folklore, Tahir Shah set out to discover whether the Incas really did fly or glide above the jungles of Peru. Or was it flight of a different kind, inspired by powerful drugs? After gathering equipment in London - and advice, not least from Wilfred Thesiger - the long quest begins, in the mountains of Peru, with a trek to Machu Picchu, the Incas' most sacred city. Then on to the mountain city of Cusco and a mysterious island on Lake Titicaca, before the trail of clues leads to the coast and through the desert, to the immense animal-like etchings which form the Nazca Lines and a remote burial ground for 30,000 mummified corpses. And finally to an epic river-journey up the Amazon to discover the secrets of the Shuar, a tribe of legendary savagery. In the course of this journey the author discovers much about the Spanish treatment of the Incas, Peruvian folklore and magic, the great but brief Amazon rubber boom of the 19th century, head-shrinking, shamanic knowledge and plant-based hallucinogens. Even for a traveller so used to surreal adventures, there are many strange encounters - some gruesome, some hilarious - among madmen and dreamers, sorcerers, con-men and jungle experts, before he can at last discover the truth about the Birdmen of Peru.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As you read Tahir Shah's books you feel you are there....,
By A Customer
This review is from: Trail of Feathers In Search of the Birdmen of Peru Tahir Shah (Hardcover)
.... with him, on the road. You check in to the most horrible hotels imaginable, eat the most disgusting food and travel through the strangest landscapes. When you think you've had enough and you can not bear it any more, out of nowhere you meet a wonderful person who tells you a good story or carries out an unimaginable act of kindness. Incredible insights into the Peruvian culture, beliefs and peoples. Trail of Feathers is the third of his travel books and as I was finishing it, I was already looking forward to the next book. Fantastic.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brave Foray into the Peruvian Jungle in search of Birdmen,
By
This review is from: Trail of Feathers In Search of the Birdmen of Peru Tahir Shah (Hardcover)
Dear Reader, If you have just now come across Tahir Shah, then do yourself a favour, and read his other books first. Start with BEYOND THE DEVIL'S TEETH, progress to SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, and then plunge into this wonderful book. The author takes real risks in his quest to locate the "Birdmen of Peru." It is an excellent account of an element of Peruvian society now under threat from "modern" commercialism and religious evangilism. Tahir puts his money where his mouth is, in a very real way, as will be evident as you read the book. This book is a serious study, but also has the Author's trademark humour and compassion in abundance.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
CAPTIVATING TRAVEL WRITING AT ITS VERY, VERY BEST,
By mbriggs@hotmail.com (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Trail of Feathers In Search of the Birdmen of Peru Tahir Shah (Hardcover)
Tahir Shah's last book, 'Sorcerer's Apprentice', was the most original travel narrative on India ever written. It must have been a hard act to follow. But with 'Trail of Feathers', Shah has written another classic, blending his considerable eye for detail with a fondness for the surreal. No straight forward 'A to B' traveller, Shah takes us deep into the Amazon in the company of a Vietnem vet on the trail of the legendary birdmen of Peru. Along the way, he feasts on guinea pig, meets shrunken head hunters and seeks out mysterious shamans who reveal to him the secrets behind the legends of primitive flight. So far, my favourite book of the year.
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