Maya: Divine Kings of the Rainforest Hardcover – June 15, 2012

The book was exactly what I was looking for. It covers every single aspect of the Mayan civilization, with very good pictures, illustrations and texts. The map at the beginning of the book and the summary timeline at the end are also very useful during the reading for "when and where" awareness.

This is an amazing book! Well written and beautifully illustrated. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Maya.

This is a fantistic book - but beware, it is the SAME book that was published in 2000 but with a different cover.

I now live in the heart of the Yucatan, where Mayan ruins "live"... awesome book!!

This is a great book!! The photos are spectacular and give an acurate view and impression of the ruins depicted. The text is interesting, factual, well thought out without being weighty.

Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest is a general work about the Maya Indians of Central America. The book takes a sweeping overview of Maya civilization, including breakdowns of the different eras of Mayan culture and taking a look at the achievements of each era. There are chapters on Mayan architecture, Mayan writing, Mayan art. There are chapters on the Mayan languages and tribal groupings and chapters that describe Mayan religion and spirituality. This is a good introductory work that will acquaint the reader with all aspects of Mayan civilization and will talk a bit about the Maya today and how they live in Southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.I heartily recommend this book to the newbie to Mayan culture who wants to get an overview of these Indians and their society. For those with more knowledge this work will not be as valuable, because it is a basic work and not specialized. If you read Michael Coe's excellent *The Maya*, you will get the same information as this book but not as detailed. This really is a superb introduction to Mayan culture and society and will cover all your bases as it educates and informs. The writing is very down to earth and easy to read, and the essays are all short and succinct. Good luck with this book!

This is simply a stunning anthology of essays, some obviously more scholarly than others. I know not what was wrong with the latest critic who carped that the material was simplistic: has he written a better book? In many cases, the totality of information available to us is simplistic! We do the best we can with the current limits of scientific scholarship & discipline.This is a breathtakingly handsome volume, profoundly richly illustrated, as well as a majestic coffee table book for those whose tastes run to the rather more scholarly than, "Classic Cars of Yesteryear; or, Coffee Grinders on Quartets of Wheels."

I use this book in my undergraduate classes, and students really appreciate it, as it is interesting, visual, and is easily understood by readers new to this field of studies. The book offers many perspectives and topics written by various experts, thus, it has many voices and is not just one scholar's "take" on matters Maya. Best Intro. to the Maya textbook available. The topics are not trendy theories, and thus, even though the book has been out for over a decade, the chapters are not out of date (at least the archaeological ones with which I am most familiar). - Marilyn Masson, Professor, Maya Archaeology, the University at Albany SUNY.

I've recently been on an 18-day 'Mysteries of the Maya' holiday covering the eastern part of Mexico/western part of Central America and this is one of the books I bought beforehand in an attempt to get up to speed on all things 'Maya'.I found this book to be extremely interesting and very well-detailed, with a very good number of maps/illustrations/photos and (notably) a number of illustrations detailing the layout of relevant archaeological sites (some in '3D' birds-eye format) to support the text.This book is devoted to the Mayan civilisation, something which may an important factor for you - it ends with chapters covering the 'modern' era of the Mayans.If content and quality are your desired features of such a book then this is the one to get, it's a true heavyweight in all respects !However, if you're after something a little more manageable with good content (albeit it doesn't just cover the Mayans) then this book might tempt you : The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Aztec and Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Mexico and Central America - Including the ... ... Photographs, Paintings, Artefacts and Maps [In my review of that book I've included a photo of the contents page so you can compare....]What neither of these books is likely to be useful for is taking with you 'on tour' - they are not really travel 'orientated' or compatible ! For that I bought/took 2 'travel' books with me, both of which I've reviewed - the former is by far my preferred book and it's size belies the quality of the content, which in a lot of ways puts this and the other 'heavyweight' on a lower footing !!! Knopf Guide: Route of the Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) and Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Moon Maya: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras) (Moon Handbooks) Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Moon Maya: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras) [ MOON MAYA 2012: A GUIDE TO CELEBRATIONS IN MEXICO, GUATEMALA, BELIZE & HONDURAS (MOON MAYA: A ... This book is an excellent, very detailed information book devoted to covering the Maya civilisation. When you consider the quality of the publication, size and content check carefully and it can be snapped-up for a relatively-speaking bargain price.... The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Aztec and Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Mexico and Central America - Including the ... ... Photographs, Paintings, Artefacts and MapsKnopf Guide: Route of the Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides)Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Moon Maya: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras) (Moon Handbooks)Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Moon Maya: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras) [ MOON MAYA 2012: A GUIDE TO CELEBRATIONS IN MEXICO, GUATEMALA, BELIZE & HONDURAS (MOON MAYA: A ...

Absolutely brilliant book! Everything what is currently known about the Maya is in this book. If you have this book on your shelf you do not need to look for another book on the Maya. It was recommended to me as the best book on the Maya by a professional tour guide in Mexico and he was absolutely right.

In Englisch musste ich eine Topic Presentation gestalten. Ich habe dazu dieses Buch bestellt und bin voll auf begeistert. Das Buch hat viele Bilder und ist noch dazu sehr ausführlich. Wenn man manchen Textpassagen nicht ganz folgen kann, ist das nicht so schlimm, da unter den Bildern ein zusammenfassender (vereinfachter) Text steht. Man braucht allerdings gute Englisch Kenntnisse, um dieses Buch lesen zu können.Ich habe festgestellt, das der Inhalt vom Maya Buch in gewissen Bereichen leicht vom Inhalt von Wikepedia abweicht.