Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (Abridged) [Paperback]

John Lloyd Stephens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1996

A lively, eloquent guide to the Maya ruins of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, as entertaining today as when it was first published in 1843, Stephens' guide recounts his two trips made to the region between 1839 and 1842. It includes extensive accounts of 44 Maya sites as well as of Yucatan folkways, manners, dress, ceremonies, amusements—all of which makes this a great travel book. Now published in a single-volume edition, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan captures for the modern reader and traveler the excitement of archaeological exploration and discovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As director of the Ocean Steam Navigating Company and president of the Panama Railway Company, Stephens (1805-1852) knew a lot about travel, and he wrote about it. His first book, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, went through 12 printings and earned its author $15,000 in its first three months, making him one of America's first bestselling writers. Edgar Allen Poe called it "perhaps the most interesting book of travel ever published." This more seasoned and focused account of Stephens's second trip, originally published in 1843, is packed with detailed accounts of travels in newly discovered Mayan ruins and with equally fascinating lithographs by his travel companion, Frederick Catherwood. Through Stephens's eyes, readers see Yucatan villages of 150 years ago, when Indians used cacao beans instead of money in their marketplaces; a Catholic/indigenous hybrid funeral that seems no more barbaric than the crude medical treatments rendered by another of Stephens's travel companions, Dr. Cabot, on their Mayan guides. One of the first to acknowledge that indigenous Americans might have built the great American pyramids and temples, not Egyptians, Greeks or one of the lost tribes of Israel, Stephens voiced a rare, nonjudgmental viewpoint in a time when European cultural elitism was the unquestioned norm. Not just a curiosity for archeology buffs or cultural studies types, this is also an informative, intriguing guide for armchair travelers.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Perhaps the most interesting book of travel ever published.”—Edgar Allen Poe

“Through Stephens’s eyes, readers see Yucatan villages of 150 years ago, when Indians used cacao beans instead of money in their marketplaces; a Catholic/indigenous hybrid funeral that seems no more barbaric than the crude medical treatments rendered by another of Stephens’s travel companions, Dr. Cabot, on their Mayan guides. One of the first to acknowledge that indigenous Americans might have built the great American pyramids and temples, not Egyptians, Greeks or one of the lost tribes of Israel, Stephens voiced a rare, nonjudgmental viewpoint in a time when European cultural elitism was the unquestioned norm. Not just a curiosity for archeology buffs or cultural studies types, this is also an informative, intriguing guide for armchair travelers.”—Publishers Weekly

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (March 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560986514
• ISBN-13: 978-1560986515
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,800,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stephens, "et al..." a disappointment, December 14, 2001

By 

Mark Robertson (SAN DIEGO, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (Abridged) (Paperback)

(Is there a way to give it no stars?)

A great disappointment to fans of Stephens and Catherwood. If you're looking for the real thing - this isn't it.

More properly titled:

"Karl Akerman's Unfortunate Abridgment of Stephens' and Catherwood's Incidents of Travel in Yucatan," this 286 page compilation is abridged, elided, and largely meaningless for anyone wishing to get the look and feel of the 600 pages of the two original volumes brilliantly written and illustrated by John Lloyd Stephens And Frederick Catherwood.

This book barely resembles the two original books, as it's missing a tremendous amount of historically styled and interesting text - and around 100 of Catherwood's exquisite drawings.

Go hunt down the Dover two volume edition - gladly pay the price - and settle in for a stunning read that hasn't been repurposed as an overview for the modern casual traveler to the Yucatan.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Gutted by Ackerman, May 4, 2005

By 

Timothy Ritter (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (Abridged) (Paperback)

Now here's a publishing phenomenon. Stephens publishes his first book on the Maya and it is hailed by Edgar Allen Poe, among others, as "perhaps the most interesting book of travel ever published". His second book on the Maya, the one for sale on this page, was called "better than its brother" by William Hickling Prescott. 153 years slip by, and a new edition of "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan" is published by none other than Smithsonian Books.

I made the mistake of assuming the new edition, coming from Smithsonian Books, would be of high quality. How wrong I was.

Mr. Ackerman, in his own words, has reduced the text of this classic "by two thirds, but aims to preserve the spirit and essence of the original work". That's right, this "editor" cuts out 67% of one of the greatest works of literature in history, and has the impudence and effrontery to say he aims to preserve the book's spirit and essence. Then, taking the concept of hubris to a new level, he puts his name on the cover under that of the author--as though he had actually added something.

He has added nothing, only subtracted. Besides the 67% of the text, he also removed the name of Frederick Catherwood, who did the marvelous drawings, from the cover.

In the introduction, there is not the slightest hint of shame for the gut job, which he describes: "I have eliminated Stephens' description of the journeys to and from the region...I have tightened Stephens' prose, eliminated the detailed measurements of buildings and mounds, and excised long historical digressions and anecdotes...I have not used ellipses to indicate compression..."

With all the eliminations and excisions and hackings, Ackerman elects to leave in place misspellings because they "reveal Stephens' character and time". Let me get this straight. Historical digressions and anecdotes, admired by the likes of Poe and Prescott, must be cut. But misspellings must be preserved to reveal character and time? What sort of a wacky caricature of a scholar did the Smithsonian Scholarly Book Fund give a grant to?

I have tried to fathom why a person with an interest in archaeology and history and literature would maim a book in this fashion, but I'm at a loss. One would expect this sort of thing if Spielberg were making a biopic about Stephens. Then, the cuts would be necessary to fit the story into a 90-minute slot while keeping enough space for a sassy love interest and a talking jaguar. But this is a fantastic book that eight generations of readers from around the world have loved in its entirety.

Where is the Dover edition?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dover Edition Much Better, May 28, 2006

By 

Ruffstone (Ca) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (Abridged) (Paperback)

The two volume Dover edition is much much better. This is watered down, and doesn't contain the important details that make it so interesting. It has very few of the illustrations found in the two volume set. This was a big let down. I bought this thinking it was similar to the Dover addition which a friend of mine owned.