In 1911, a young Peruvian boy led an American explorer and Yale historian named Hiram Bingham into the ancient Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Hidden amidst the breathtaking heights of the Andes, this settlement of temples, tombs and palaces was the Incas’ greatest achievement. Cradle of Gold tells the story of how Bingham revealed the lost and forgotten city to the Western world. Hiram Bingham was an explorer, adventurer, extraordinary scholar, U.S. Senator, and, in the eyes of many, high-handed thief. Chris Heaney’s highly readable book at last gives him his due. Bingham emerges as a complex figure that generated real excitement about Peru’s past as no one had before and who made a significant contribution to the study of South American archaeology and Inca history. Though Bingham successfully realized his dream of bringing Machu Picchu’s treasure of skulls, bones and artifacts back to the United States, conflict between Yale University and Peru persists through the present day over a simple question: Who owns Inca history? Cradle of Gold is a fitting testimony to one of the greatest of American explorers. It is a fascinating work of narrative history that combines careful research into a subtle portrait of a man of great contradictions. A lively, suspenseful, and well-written yarn.