Knopf Guide: Route Of The Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) [Paperback]

Knopf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 4, 1995 | Series: Knopf Guides

Journey through the mysterious Mayan ruins of the Yucatan and Central America and learn about the fascinating Mayan civilization through this lavishly illustrated and information-packed book, with more than 1,000 drawings, photos and maps. Colorful cross sections and plans of city-states illustrate the Route of the Mayas. National ads/media.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?An illustrated guide to historical and contemporary Mayan life and culture in Mexico and Central America. It covers every aspect of the civilization from food cultivation and preparation to religion, urban development, and architecture. The book contains hard-to-find information on family life, textiles, and natural life plus excerpts from travelers' journals ranging in time from 1500-1970. Every single page has drawings, photographs, or maps, most of them in color. There is a chapter devoted to each country and another offers practical tourist information. Its small size makes it convenient for travelers to tuck away in a suitcase or purse.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

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Product Details

• Paperback: 478 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (July 4, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679755691
• ISBN-13: 978-0679755692
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Belize
  • #19 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > El Salvador
  • #31 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Honduras

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top quality, October 20, 2001

By 

Stephen McHenry (Olney, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knopf Guide: Route Of The Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) (Paperback)

This wonderfully illustrated portable guide is a wealth of information not normally seen in the regular travel guides. Such information as the geography, animals, different ethnic groups within the Maya, how the commuinities are structrured, festivals, musical instruments, furniture, food, and alot more. The format for the guide is 2 or more pages on each topic, lots of drawings, or paintings, or photos (new and old). The book uses lots of colour, is fascinating to go through even after you have read it. It has some helpful tourist information as to hotels, shops, restaurants, but is not a primary source for booking reservations information. If you have any interest in this area or these people, this is a great book to have for a really good price. It is a treat to look at.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for actual or armchair travel to La Ruta Maya., August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Knopf Guide: Route Of The Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) (Paperback)

Lots of informative text and splendid pictures make this portable guide well worth its relatively modest price. The book deals with almost every aspect of both ancient and modern-day Maya life, as well as with practical travel information. I have been through La Ruta Maya on five different trips and am a fan of travel literature on Central America, but I still learned many new things from this book, especially about present-day Maya practices. There are a few typos, but still, it's perfect for actual or armchair travel to La Ruta Maya.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Supplement for a Trip, November 6, 2010

By 

Chase Harrison (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knopf Guide: Route Of The Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) (Paperback)

This is simply a spectacular accompaniment for anyone who is planning, preparing for, in the midst of, or who has returned from a trip to the Mayan regions; particularly Guatemala and southern Mexico (i.e. Chiapas and Yucatan), though also Belize. It is also a wonderful book for an armchair traveler or reader interested in these regions and their setting, history, and culture.

Though the book is practical enough to fit in a handbag or larger pocket, the design is elegant and can easily serve as a coffee-table book. The paper, printing, and layout are lush and lavish, and chock full of useful photographs, and illustrations. There are several sections that fold out, and the book has a cloth bookmark built in. It is simply a beautiful book, especially for a travel book.

The focus of the book is on the sort of deep background information which enhances understanding but isn't essential for getting around. The 50 pages or so of "practical information" at the back are useful enough to think about planning a trip - the calendar of local festivals and events is particularly useful - but overall this section is not adequate for planning or logistics of travel across the wide region covered. You will want to supplement it with a more ordinary and up-to-date tour book. But the value-added in this volume is incredible, and is not the sort of information that will go out of date any time soon.

Approximately the first half of the book is taken up with general historical, cultural, and contextual detail focusing on the region (with a particular emphasis on things Mayan). Chapters include Nature, History, The Maya Today, Mayan Textiles, Architecture, and the region as seen by both artists and writers. Here the book really shines. The sections on history and architecture provide a foundation for archeological sites. However, the 40+ pages covering The Maya Today and textiles really make the book provide wonderful enrichment for day-to-day travel. The colorful and thoughtful illustrations and photographs, combined with a keen author's eye to understanding the connections between past and present, add essential meaning to what visitors see as they head through these places.

The second half of the book is focused on the regions and places that a traveler is likely to visit. The topics covered are similar to the first half, but focus a bit more on the particulars of the region, including illustrative sections on topography, rich photographs and discussion for particularly important sites.

One practical note: Amazon currently (11/10) lists this book as being published in 1995. The copy I bought from Amazon (in 2003) lists the book as being "Completely updated and revised in 2003." Comparing the 2003 edition with the edition on Amazon (i.e. the Table of Contents and Index), the only differences appear to be the cover and the small "practical information" section in the back. Since that's not the strength of the book, I'd be really surprised if a reader would go wrong with any edition of this treasure, provided they supplemented it with a more practical guidebook.