Journey to Ollantaytambo: In the Sacred Valley of the Incas

Photographer Hubbard ( First Light ) is as accomplished in the use of language as in the use of the camera. The 71 black-and-white pictures here convey the ageless dignity of people and places, though their slightly romanticized aura fails to reflect some of the harsher realities Hubbard writes of. The accompanying text also captures and preserves moments in time in simple, lyrical prose. Hubbard settled into the ancient Peruvian town of Ollantaytambo in a quest for spiritual enrichment, yet he omits nothing of the equivocal day-to-day reality he discovers: his camping gear is whisked away by thieves during a split-second lapse in his attention; government troops fighting the guerrillas of the Sendero Luminoso become increasingly intrusive; and his closest friend and spiritual comrade takes money Hubbard has given him to start a clinic and uses it for himself and his friends instead. But Hubbard finds the people themselves and their struggle to survive to be the greatest reservoir of Peru's sacred energy, and he admirably documents it in this lovely book. ( June )