The Secret of the Incas: Myth, astronomy and the war against time by Dr William Sullivan (Crown, 1998)
The Channel 4 documentary Secrets of the Incas is based on the research described in this book. Some reviewers' comments: 'Sullivan has opened up a whole new approach to our knowledge of the past ... I hope that all those interested in any aspect of human culture read this excellent work' (George Stuart, National Geographic Society). 'Powerful ... This thought-provoking opus deserves to be read and read again ... It shows how many doors might eventually be opened once myth is recognised as the technical language of cosmology' (Hertha von Dechend, co-author of Hamlet's Mill).

Hamlet's Mill: An essay on myth and the frame of time by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend (David R Godine, 1993)
The inspiration (first published in 1969) for Dr William Sullivan's research.

The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and salvation in the ancient world by David Ulansey (Oxford University Press, 1991)
Mithraism was a powerful competitor to Christianity in the early Roman empire. Favoured by the Roman legions, it was long thought to be a purely religious phenomenon. Ulansey shows that Mithraism was a very sophisticated cosmological teaching based on the knowledge of precessional astronomy. Well received and reviewed, this book's only flaw may be in not asking the obvious question: did the ancient Zoroastrian religion, on which Mithraism was based, also understand the very same information at a much earlier date?

Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of advanced civilization in the Ice Age by Charles H Hapgood (Souvenir Press, 2001)
Albert Einstein thought Charles Hapgood was a genius. If it piques your curiosity to learn that a map known to have been in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul in the 16th century clearly shows the continent of Antarctica – complete with river systems – as it looked before it was covered with ice in about 8000 BC, then you may want to give this book a look.

Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain by Euan MacKie (St Martin's Press, 1977, US Edition only).
This book is a jewel of restrained but incisive scholarship by a professional British archaeologist. It reprises the work of Alexander Thom, the man who measured Britain's megalithic stone circles and found in them a surprising and precise geometry. For his trouble, Thom was ridiculed in his day. However, his measurements were redone in the early 1970s and it turns out he was right - the British megalithic yard, first deduced by Thom, stands as proposed: 2.72 feet (0.83 metre). And then MacKie asks his question: 'Shouldn't we look for the place where these engineers got their measuring rods?' It's a good question, one that, alas, some of his colleagues cannot hear.

Chaucer's Universe by J D North (Clarendon Press, 1988: out of print).
If you find the idea charming that Chauntecleer the Rooster in Chaucer's 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' doesn't just crow at the rising sun but represents the sun, and that his little harem of 'seven hens' refers to the Pleiades (a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus) rising on that morning, then you might be interested in just how thoroughly steeped in this kind of thinking Chaucer's work is. But be warned: if you take the plunge, whole bodies of literature from around the world will never look the same to you again.

History of the Conquest of Peru by William H Prescott (Random House, 1995) 1998.
Originally published in 1847, this is the classic of the orthodox view of Peruvian conquest history.

The Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming (Papermac, 1993) £12.
A modern orthodox history of the era.

Websites

Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.

National Geographic
www.nationalgeographic.com
The website of the venerable National Geographic magazine offers a smorgasbord of information about Peru and the Incas. From the early exploits of the discoverer of Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham, to the 'ice mummy' expeditions of Johan Reinhard, it's the original Casbah of the exotic. Lots of terrific maps and photographs, too.

Ice Mummies of the Incas
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/peru/worlds
Extensive information about the ice mummies of Peru and the Incas, as well as the best collection of photos of the discoveries of Inca sacrifices. From the website of Nova, the science series on US public television.

Qosqo, Inkas' Sacred Capital: An online guidebook
www.qosqo.com/qosqo/
A wonderful site for those wanting to see and read about dozens of Inca sites in the Cuzco (Qosqo) region, created by a former tour guide. Anyone planning a trip or just curious to see images of Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, among others, will want to check it out. Nice music, too!