» Maya Glyphs (Reading the Past)

Maya Glyphs (Reading the Past) Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Where do these people come from?
Comment: As the author of this slim book I should probably respond to the annoying review by Kuhn. First of all, the book's length was established by the British Museum Press -- I had nothing to do with this decision. "Maya Glyphs" forms part of a series, all of which are volumes of equal length. Second, the manuscript was prepared in 1988. Obviously I would not write precisely the same book today. The Press has never allowed me to revise the book, and it certainly needs to be replaced. Mike Coe will soon publish, with Mark Van Stone, an introductory volume that should please and instruct readers. Most other books on Maya glyphs cannot be recommended at this time.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not much value here
Comment: Sadly, I can find very little to recommend this book for. Consisting of barely 80 pages, it starts with a short introduction of the nature of Maya writing and its decipherment, both of which you will find in more comprehensive and understandable form in Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code". It then switches very fast to some rather specialist examples completely unsuited for the beginner. In the end, you get 1 (read:one) sample text, and that's about it. On the positive side, which is as thin as the book itself, Houston mentions some interesting details, like the stylistic variations among glyphs of different regions, which are rarely found in other volumes, but these tidbits of valuable information hardly constitute a reason to purchase this book. One for completists only.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: More should have been better
Comment: A very concise description of maya writing. Really useful for beginners trying to understand the mechanics of the mayan writing system. But in some sense it lacks some deepness. It stays on the surface, even though its author is one of the big names on mayan epigraphy.

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