The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings

It's the size and weight of a textbook. But I couldn't stop reading it, & finally gave up & packed it in my suitcase. I read the first 3 chapters, & then had to do a time-jump to a later period to catch up with where we would be visiting in Mexico. And once I loaned it to my son, at Chichen Itza, I didn't see it again, because he was so caught up reading it. It's that informative and, yes, readable. On the book flap, it says the author "brings to life this extraordinary civilization" - well he really does! I also appreciated the ending.

As a general reader with an interest in the Maya, I found that this book delivered. It was well written and not difficult and didn't get bogged down in archaeological minutae. But it IS thorough. Not just about the so called "Lost Chronicles" but a total survey of our knowledge of the Maya, from their "discovery", the serpentine journey to understanding them, and what is known from their origin through to recent times. But he is clear to point out that in Classical times we are restricted often to the lives of rulers, and often only of a few cites that have lots of inscriptions and are well studied. He even agrees that it is time to return the study of Mayan culture to the Mayan descendants. One still gets a sense of sketchiness in the presentation, which only reveals that even with all that has been recently aquired is still not very much. Contains maps, many b & w illustrations and color plates. He could have used twice as many, these things are really beautiful.Aside: One aspect of Maya scholarship is the destruction in the 16th century of several Maya bark scrolls by Friar Diego de Landa. Although he is only supposed to have burned a few dozen, Drew appears to be wringing his fists as he goes on, as if at each turn these irreplacable items - and he claims the loss of hundreds or thousands - would have answered all his questions. Well, maybe.

This very good book is NOT just a history of what we know about the Maya. It summarizes the saga of how these ancient cities were discovered and how our knowledge of them was developed - especially during the last century.It also offers a very insightful review of what scholars have learned of the various Mayan cities, their rise and fall, and their relations with one another. The author also takes us through a brief review of the conquest and all that was lost and how the Maya have survived as a people under extremely difficult circumstances.And there are some very helpful pcitures and illustrations.I am glad I own it, have read it, and am happy to recommend it to others as a one volume look at the broad scope of out understanding of this amazing culture.

My compliments to the author. He did a good job with this book. Not since Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code" have I found a book on the Maya so exciting to read and so easy to get through. David Drew doesn't bog you down in academic minutae.I found two things in this book that were particularly fascinating. One, that the Maya were not a single pre-Columbian empire, as is so often portrayed, but rather a set of city-states involved in constantly shifting alliances with other political entities. It made the Maya seem that much more accessible and real as people.The second item I found fascinating was the fact that the Maya city of Tayasal survived into the period of the Spanish Conquest, while the bulk of the Maya world, and its once proud city-state, had collapsed several hundred years earlier. I am curious to read more about this particular city in a book by Grant Jones.I highly recommend this book to all those interested in the Maya. It is a good read and you don't need to be an expert on the Maya to enjoy it.

This book was very good in so many ways I found it to be a very objective and informative.