Covering more than five hundred years of history, culture, and politics, The Lima Reader captures the multiple viewpoints of the diverse peoples of Peru’s capital city. The volume traces Lima’s transformation from a pre-Columbian religious center, to the colonial “City of Kings,” to today’s vibrant and deeply divided metropolis of almost ten million people. A rich array of primary sources—including traveler accounts, essays, photographs, maps, poems, short stories, lyrics, and memoir excerpts, many appearing in English for the first time—address how Lima’s multiethnic population, class inequalities, and debates of who is a “true” limeño/a have evolved throughout the city’s history. The book also includes selections that explore Lima’s identity through its food, sports culture, festivals, and sense of humor. Intended for travelers, students, and scholars alike, The Lima Reader is an invaluable introduction to the complex social tensions and cultural history of Lima and its people.

About The Author(s)
Carlos Aguirre is Professor of History at the University of Oregon and the author of The Criminals of Lima and Their Worlds: The Prison Experience, 1850–1935, also published by Duke University Press.

Charles F. Walker is Professor of History, Director of the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas, and MacArthur Foundation Endowed Chair in International Human Rights at the University of California, Davis, and the author of Shaky Colonialism: The 1746 Earthquake-Tsunami in Lima, Peru, and Its Long Aftermath and Smoldering Ashes: Cuzco and the Creation of Republican Peru, 1780–1840, both also published by Duke University Press.