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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 497.42
EAN num: 9780500285534
ISBN number: 0500285535
Label: Thames & Hudson
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 176
Printing Date: 2005-06
Publishing house: Thames & Hudson
Sale Popularity Level: 186239
Studio: Thames & Hudson
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The breaking of the Maya code has completely changed our knowledge of this ancient civilization, and has revealed the Maya people's long and vivid history. Decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing has progressed to the point where most Maya written texts—whether inscribed on monuments, written in the codices, or painted or incised on ceramics—can now be read with confidence.
In this practical guide, very first published in 2001, Michael D. Coe, the noted Mayanist, and Mark Van Stone, an accomplished calligrapher, have made the difficult, often mysterious script accessible to the nonspecialist. They decipher real Maya texts, and the transcriptions include a picture of the glyph, the pronunciation, the Maya words in Roman type, and the translation into English. For the second edition, the authors have taken the latest research and breakthroughs into account, adding glyphs, updating captions, and reinterpreting or expanding upon earlier decipherments.
After an introductory discusion of Maya culture and history and the nature of the Maya script, the authors introduce the glyphs in a series of chapters that elaborate on topics such as the intricate calendar, warfare, royal lives and rituals, politics, dynastic names, ceramics, relationships, and the supernatural world. The book includes illustrations of historic texts, a syllabary, a lexicon, and translation exercises. Illustrated in two colors throughout.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Perhaps the problem lies less with the authors and more with the language, but I suspect both are guilty of making this study of Maya glyphs as enjoyable as mowing a near vertical lawn in 100 degree weather. Imagine being asked to name and recognize each of the 101 Dalmations (with the understanding that sometimes any dalmation could alternately appear as a collie or unicorn or frog or loaf of bread OR any of those things turned upside down or stuck to the wall with velcro or distorted as if pushed up against a glass wall from behind). Add to that a series of cryptic lessons on linguistic esoterica designed to give you fits and several exercises to show that you will never make any progress here (and ought to question whether or not you have early Alzheimers or something equally dreadful that could explain why you got so many wrong answers on the tests). I actually started arguing with the book around page 30 which is when I knew it was time to move on. Instead of tearing hearts out of thousands of people the Maya should have spent more time making a language that was user friendly . . . even the Klingons did a better job.
Rated by buyers 
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I'm giving this 4 stars, because it just doesn't seem right to rank it as only an average book, it's really fantastic. However, having done a lot of (admittedly amateur) study of the Maya script, I found this book problematic in a few areas. First, you should know that some of the grammar presented here is still very much debatable--especially the sections on morphosyllables and syllabic disharmony. If you don't have any idea what that means, don't worry, Coe explains it well. The answers are just a little more hypothetical than the presentation suggests.
John Montgomery's book "How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs" is a little more conservative on those topics, and is generally more in-depth and scholarly. The book on this page, on the other hand, is better illustrated and has practice exercises that are extremely helpful. Ideally, I would recommend owning both--the overlap is not as bad as you might think and they have different strengths for bringing along in visits to sites like Palenque and their museums. If you must choose one, the Coe book is a quicker study and better designed for practicing and looking up material such as the syllabary easily. The Montgomery gives you decidedly more info and a more solid foundation. I hope this review helps you choose the best one for your taste. Either way, enjoy studying this difficult and beautiful script.
Rated by buyers 
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Not only is this book beautifully printed with exquisite glyphs printed in blue ink, it is also coherent and accessible to everyone interested in Maya hieroglyphs. It takes almost no time to read and fully understand, and is a perfect introduction and reference tool. A must have for any Maya enthusiast.
Rated by buyers -
Great tool for opening the field for Mayan Hieroglyphs.But not enough to master fully.
Rated by buyers -
Holy Crap![.] This book is totally sweet![.] I may not be an expert in Mayan junk but I was keenly interested in this subject and this book delivered. In addition I had to write this paper about Classic Mayan Grammar in this class I was taking and this book saved my bacon. Thanks Michael D. Coe, I love you man...
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