House of the Tiger King by Tahir Shah
In 1572, the Spanish Conquistadors stormed the Inca stronghold of Vilcabamba in Peru, searching for great golden treasure, only to find the city deserted, burned, and already stripped of its wealth. A legend says that the Incas had retreated deep into the jungle, where they built another magnificent city in an inaccessible quarter of the cloud-forest. And for more than four centuries explorers and adventurers, archaeologists and warrior-priests, have searched for the gold and riches of the Incas, and this lost city of Paititi, known by the local Machiguenga tribe as 'The House of the Tiger King'. After the lost city obsession had gnawed away at Tahir Shah for almost a decade, he could stand it no more. He put together an expedition and set out into Peru's Madre de Dios jungle, the densest cloud forest on Earth. He teams up with a Pancho, a Machiguenga warrior who asserts that in his youth he came upon a massive series of stone ruins deep in the jungle. Pancho's ambition was to leave the jungle and visit a 'live' bustling city so the two men make a pact: if Pancho takes Shah to Paititi, then he will take Pancho to the Peruvian capital. Here is the tale of Shah's remarkable adventure to find the greatest lost city of the Americas, and the treasure of the Incas. Along the way he considers others who have spent decades in pursuit of lost cities, and asks why anyone would find it necessary to mount such a quest at all.
Praise for TRAIL OF FEATHERS: 'Tahir Shah has a talent for inventive and outrageous travellingHe uses a natural candour to confront villains, mountebanks, lunatics and murderers, allowing situations to develop which would have most of us running and screaming' -- The Spectator 'Tahir Shah is an ideal companion with whom to go looking for buried treasure -- adventurous, romantic and irrepressible' -- Praise for IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES, 'Simple and elegant, subtly self-deprectaing and often hilarious -- worth its weight in gold' -- Praise for IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES, 'A most extraordinary writer' -- Praise for IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES, 'What give the book a cutting edge, along with the comic-book vivacity of the dialogue, is Shah's brutal candour' -- The Independent 'Shah is an uproariously funny writer' -- The New York Times 'The journey is appalling and hilarious and full of gems' -- Praise for TRAIL OF FEATHERS, Daily Teleg 'Extraordinary ! One of the most surreal -- not to say downright incredible -- works of travel ever published' -- Praise for SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE, The Time 'Terrific ! learned, funny and completely spellbinding' -- Praise for SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE, Mail on 'Tahir Shah has a talent for inventive and outrageous travelling.' -- Praise for TRAIL OF FEATHERS, The Spectat 'Jaw-droppingly, dreadfully funny' -- Praise for IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES,
Tahir Shah was born into a respected Afghan family and educated in England. He has lived in Japan, India, the United States and East Africa, and his books include The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Trail of Feathers, Beyond the Devil's Teeth and In Search of King Solomon's Mines.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780719566110 |
| ISBN 10 | 0719566118 |
| Title | House of the Tiger King |
| Author | Tahir Shah |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | John Murray Press |
| Year published | 2004-07-05 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |