History of the Conquest of Peru details with accuracy and emotional resonance the arrival of Spain's conquerors to Peru, and the wars of conquest whose outcomes remain the cause of contention even in the present day. Conquistadors Pizarro and Almagro are the protagonists of The History of the Conquest of Peru. Prescott tells of their brutal overthrow of the Incas, and the wars between the two of them afterward. Another of Prescott's biographers, Donald G. Darnell, called the book, an immensely readable history. Using a wealth of documentation as raw material, Prescott turned this blend of viewpoints into a heroic and tragic epic of Spain's efforts to dominate Central and South America. The Histories offer extensive insight into the Aztec and Inca cultures, and into the religious fervor and imperialist drive of the Spaniards who destroyed them, at the risk of their own lives. It comprises one of the most readable accounts of the New World's conquest.

William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 – January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite suffering from serious visual impairment, which at times prevented him from reading or writing for himself, Prescott became one of the most eminent historians of 19th century America. He is also noted for his eidetic memory. He was primarily focused on political and military affairs, largely ignoring economic, social, intellectual, and cultural forces that in recent decades historians have focused on. Instead, he wrote narrative history, subsuming unstated causal forces in his driving storyline.