John Hemming was director of the Royal Geographical Society in London for 21 years. Made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1995, he also holds both of Peru’s highest honours – Gran Cruz of the Orden al Mérito Publico and Gran Oficial of El Sol del Perú – as well as the Order of the Southern Cross, awarded to him by the Brazilian government for his work in the region. He has visited over 40 indigenous peoples (four of them at first contact) and led the largest rainforest research project to be organised by a European country. His three-volume history of the indigenous peoples of Amazonia consists of Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians, Amazon Frontier and Die If You Must. His many other books include The Conquest of the Incas och Tree of Rivers: The Story of the Amazon.