Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes

By Johan Reinhard

Johan Reinhard's discovery of the 500-year-old frozen body of an Inca girl made international headlines in 1995, reaching more than a billion people worldwide. One of the best-preserved mummies ever found, it was a stunning and significant time capsule, the spectacular climax to an Andean quest that yielded no fewer than ten ancient human sacrifices as well as the richest collection of Inca artifacts in archaeological history.

Here is the paperback edition of his first-person account, which The Washington Post called "incredible…compelling and often astonishing" and The Wall Street Journal described as "… part adventure story, part detective story, and part memoir—an engaging look at a rarefied world." It's a riveting combination of mountaineering adventure, archaeological triumph, academic intrigue, and scientific breakthrough which has produced important results ranging from the best-preserved DNA of its age to the first complete set of an Inca noblewoman's clothing.

At once a vivid personal story, a treasure trove of new insights on the lives and culture of the Inca, and a fascinating glimpse of cutting-edge research in fields as varied as biology, botany, pathology, ornithology and history, The Ice Maiden is as spellbinding and unforgettable as the long-dead but still vital young woman at its heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 21, 2006
• ISBN: 9781426201769

Reviews for Ice Maiden

[amandacb_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There were things I enjoyed about this book; however, I felt that not enough attention and detail were paid to describing the wondrous finds of Inca mummies. The discoveries seemed to get pushed to the wayside as Reinhard embarked on paragraph upon paragraph of self-absorbed prose, promulgating his many achievements, hardships, accolades, and "brilliant ideas." He attempted to wedge into this text as many important names and contacts as humanly possible, stressing his ties with those people and societies; which, of course, detracted from the story itself. It's more of an autobiography of Reinhard as opposed to any semi-convincing study of Inca culture surrounding the mummy finds, not to mention the mummies themselves. A brief chapter is devoted to the bare outlines of Inca culture and history, but it culminates to nothing more than a few lines summarizing dates and periods. I was disappointed in the text, not only because it did not provide enough information on the subjects that REALLY matter (like Incas, not Reinhard), but Reinhard came across as arrogant and self-aggrandizing as he recounted his interactions with others. Reinhard repeatedly mentioned his "annoyance" with others, and strived as hard as he could to present those who did not win his favor (or bow to his presence) in an extremely negative light. He also spends valuable space talking about how his "companion" and "lady friend" Jackie would accompany him; this is the fluff that would be better excised and left on the cutting room floor. It contributed nothing to the story. As I am serious about studying Native American cultures, most especially pre-Inca and Inca, I will look elsewhere for the knowledge that I expected Reinhard to at least make a enthusiastic attempt to supply. I will say: the pictures were nice. By the way, after I posted my review on Amazon.com, the author himself emailed me to insult and disparage me for giving him such a low-star review. It only reinforced my perceptions of his arrogance that I gleaned from this text.