A Classic--Still Useful I have enjoyed this book and have used it on several trips to the Yucatan, but I must agree about the shortcomings mentioned by other reviewers. I consider the book a classic--at the time it was written, it provided much needed and hard-to-find information--which today is much more readily available in guidebooks. I find the book most useful in trip planning--especially in highlighting interesting, lesser-known sites to visit. (Also, do not overlook the excellent inexpensive pamphlets on various sites sold at the Anthropology Museum in Merida, as well as the free Yucatan Today guide which can be obtained at the Tourist Information Center in the Teatro Peon Contreras.)
a good read I think the book is wonderful. Having written that, what the other readers said of its failings are true, and it should not be taken literally when planning a trip. To show an example, a friend of mine did not realize that there is now a paved road to Calakmul and did not go there.
The book also failed to mention that there was a hotel at the time of publication, the Mirador Maya. Now there is another, the Calakmul. Both are basic, but the area is not the wasteland one would expect from guide books.
Not quite as good as the reviews suggest This is a worthy and thoroughly researched book, but it has a number of weaknesses as a practical field guide. It is too large to fit in a pocket, making it inconvenient to carry when stumbling about in the humid mosquito-ridden Mayan jungle. The maps are not particularly good, and the text tends to offer little more than a description of what one can see with one's own eyes. What is needed is more explanation and less exposition, if one is to understand the significance of Mayan carvings and architecture. The introduction offers some insight into the meaning of such things, but not much. What, for instance, is the significance of the ever-present Mayan ball courts? What was the nature of the game being played? This book does not offer the answers, or at least not readily. The reader is expected to have a level of understanding and knowledge which makes it effectively unsuitable for the novice. At the larger sites such as Chichen-Itza I found (bizarrely) that the budget guide "Let's Go Mexico" was actually more informative than this volume. In addition, the rapid rate of depredation of Mayan sites (jungle growth, souvenir-hunters etc) means that the book definitely shows its age. I found some of the descriptions barely recognisable today (December 1998).
Needs updating; somewhat incomplete. Having spent the better part of a month touring archeological sites in the Yucatan this summer (1998) attempting to use this book as a guide, it became apparent that the book covers very little of the southeast Yucatan penninsula (which should include Belize, but doesn't) and the recently opened ruins at Dzibanche and Kinichna (1996). These are some important areas well worth a look, but are not covered. Also Mayapan differed significantly from the description in the book owing to some fairly recent work there. The descriptions are rather dry and would benefit from more historical and anthropological information.
A Pre-trip Planning Must, Interested in going to the Yucatan and seeing some of those incredible Mayan jungle ruins? You must have this book beforehand. Rating each of the sites with 4 stars for the most interesting down to one star, you get great background information as well as a really good map of the site, what are it's most interesting features, and how much time you might want to spend there. The information is very detailed, archaeological in viewpoint, but usable and interesting for tourist types. Use this in conjuction with more current roadmap information for trip planning as the roads are always changing, but the 900 year old Pyramid of the Magician isn't going anywhere. I did not take this with me on my trip, but had gotten so much information from it that when we arrived at the sites in the morning, I already knew the site layout and which way to start so as to have the best sun for photographs. Even the smaller 1 & 2 star sites are worth seeing if they are near your travel path, and this book does a great job on those sites which you will not find in the tourist books. This is the only book I found that gives the pronouciation for the names of the sites in Mayan, even now I occasionally surf through the book for fun. Not a typical travel book, but well written and interesting.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
