Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico [Paperback]

Ronald Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1991

The Maya created one of the world's most brilliant civilizations, famous for its art, astronomy, and deep fascination with the mystery of time. Despite collapse in the ninth century, Spanish invasion in the sixteenth, and civil war in the twentieth, eight million people in Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico speak Mayan languages and maintain their resilient culture to this day. Traveling through Central America's jungles and mountains, Ronald Wright explores the ancient roots of the Maya, their recent troubles, and prospects for survival. Embracing history, anthropology, politics, and literature, Time Among the Maya is a riveting journey through past magnificence and the study of an enduring civilization with much to teach the present. "Wright's unpretentious narrative blends anthropology, archaeology, history, and politics with his own entertaining excursions and encounters." -- The New Yorker; "Time Among the Maya shows Wright to be far more than a mere storyteller or descriptive writer. He is an historical philosopher with a profound understanding of other cultures." -- Jan Morris, The Independent (London).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This impressionistic travel diary portrays the uneducated but spirited modern descendants of the ancient Mayas, Incas and Aztecs, a potentially volatile peasant group suppressed by the European-descended Ladino majority in Latin America. "Wright fuses adventure, politics, archeology and history in a riveting read," said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Wright takes us along to ancient and modern sites inhabited by Mayan Indians in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico and concludes that the Maya are not facing extinction from the onslaught of "civilization" into their areas, but, on the contrary are surviving as they always have, by grafting new ways onto an ancient base. Spanish conquistadors found cities in America which far surpassed anything in Europe--with tall buildings and an accurate calendar. While the book offers a fine overview of Mayan civilization, it is not for the faint-hearted: It is quite scholarly. Readers interested in the calendar and the Mayan time reference will find this book valuable. For large and special collections.
- Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 451 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (P) (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708848737
• ISBN-13: 978-0805014709
• ASIN: 0805014705
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,345,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, October 1, 2001

By 

Stephen McHenry (Olney, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico (Paperback)

A travel book, with culture and policitcs woven in, but not too heavily. Geography, environment, and a collection of characters encountered along the way, a fascinating book on several levels. Also in the fabric of the book is a discussion of how the Mayans keep time, what happened to them as a culture and people, as well as what their future might be. But is it all done with excellent writing, none of it too academic or dry, all interesting, with great writing artistry. A very good book. Simple and powerful. A good read if you have any interest in this area of the world or the Mayans.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More than a Travelogue, June 28, 2002

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico (Paperback)

At first this book appears to be merely a travelogue of Wright's journeys through the Maya areas of Mexico and Central America. Sure, he gives us the goods on the ancient Maya ruins and archeological treasures, plus a lot of great historical coverage, but these turn out to be the background of a much larger narrative. Instead, Wright spends the bulk of his time visiting with the local people, both modern Mayas and non-Mayas who inhabit these regions today. Therefore we get an excellent sociological study on these peoples. I was surprised to learn of the large numbers of Maya that still exist, not just as an ancient fringe religious group, but as a sizeable portion of the populations of Guatemala, Belize, and Southern Mexico. Unfortunately these people still deal with the fallout of nearly 500 years of oppression, and continuing discrimination today. Their resulting hardships are a major focus of the book. Wright also has a flair for picking out offbeat and enjoyable characters among the people he meets, like the nearly-Rasta mestizos of Belize and a variety of befuddled and naïve traveling companions. Wright could stand to be a little less biased at times, especially in the portion of the book that deals with Guatemala. Wright gets really carried away in describing this dreary nation as a hopeless hellhole. This characterization is probably not too far from reality, but impartiality is missing at times in this book. (Note that this was written back in the mid-80's, though it's doubtful if much has changed since then). Also, pictures of the many fascinating areas Wright visited would be a nice addition to this book. You have to rely on Wright's descriptions instead, although he does a pretty good job. Ultimately, this book is less a standard travelogue than an entertaining and very enlightening sociological study on a people who are still going strong even though their culture "collapsed" (in Western eyes) centuries and centuries ago.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential guide for Maya lands -, March 2, 2006

By 

Katherine H. O'neil "ko'n" (Vancouver WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico (Paperback)

Classic, essential, practical. Don't leave home for Maya lands without it.