THE FOLIO SOCIETY

The secrets of the ancient latin Americas, the Maya, the Aztecs and the Incas, revealed in this superb three-volume set. From about the third century AD to the sixteenth, when the Europeans arrived and native American civilisation rapidly collapsed, three ancient empires - the Maya, the Aztecs and the Incas - dominated the region. The history of these early civilizations of Latin America is brought to life.

As early as 1588 a Spanish friar had marvelled at the mighty ruins of Uxmal, but it was not until 1839, when John Stephens, an American travel writer, and Frederick Catherwood, an English architect, set out to explore the lost jungle cities in depth that the full splendour of the Maya was discovered.

At the turn of the last century, the Maya hieroglyphic script began to be deciphered and large-scale excavations began. Norman Hammond's account reveals the sophistication of the Mayan civilization, which reached its apogee between 250 and 900 AD.

For the armies of Hernan Cortes, marching down the causeway that joined the fabled city of Tenochtitlan to the mainland, it was as if they were approaching 'another Venice'. Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), with its great towers and temples, was the hub of the vast Aztec empire ruled over by Motecuzoma II.

The Aztecs were warriors: they had arrived in the area as nobodies at the beginning of the 14th century, built an empire on their skill as mercenaries and maintained it by exacting tribute from their vassal states.

It is a combination of sophistication and barbarism that makes the Aztecs so endlessly fascinating - that, and the poignancy of Motecuzoma's defeat in 1521 at the hands of Cortes and his conquistadores.

The Inca empire was founded on rapid expansion over a huge area. Radiating outwards from the capital at Cuzco in southern Peru, it spread as far as Ecuador and Argentina.

The Incas were great road-builders, using a 12,500 mile network to move rebellious populations round the empire, with messengers running the length of these roads bringing intelligence to their masters. Like the Aztecs, the Incas were brought down by a small group of Spaniards. Nigel Davies's history of the Incas is widely regarded as definitive.