With the backdrop of the ever-intriguing Andes mountains, The White Rock – Hugh Thomson’s intoxicating history of the Inca people and their heartland – is a thrilling mix of information and adventure.

The author – an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and explorer – expertly weaves accounts of his own discoveries and brushes with danger, together with stories of the eccentric characters he meets on his travels, and the historic tales of those who preceded him, including the explorer Hiram Bingham (who discovered Machu Picchu), the 20th century South American photographer Martin Chambi, the poet Pablo Neruda, the Spanish conquistadores who destroyed the Inca civilization.