Customer Reviews

The World of the Maya

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I recently picked up Sam Osmanagich's The World of the Maya to learn something about the ancient civilization. What I found instead was a disarmingly folksy travelogue with an innocent sense of wonder. Published by an academic press, I had hoped the book might provide sound information on the Maya; most Meso-American peoples of the past do not require fictionalization to bring out their compelling history.

I couldn't help but notice the concern of the author with the year 2012. Actually, Osmanagich is looking forward to 2012; it will be when a new era in human existence begins. Since he freely admits throughout the book that extraterrestrials provided technical support in the Mayan monumental architecture, I suppose the fixation on 2012 should not be surprising. We were prepared that world could end in 2000, as I recall. Now only a dozen years down the road from Y2K we are being told to prepare for yet another apocalypse. People I speak to seem genuinely concerned about this one, and even I had a shiver or two as Osmanagich calmly laid out how the Maya just didn't make mistakes like that. As I see it, there are two choices: people should study the origins and rationale of apocalypticism or someone should start a business selling Apocalypse insurance (the name Four Horsemen might be catchy). People seem ready to believe that extinct civilizations knew something about our fate that we just can't see. And if the world does end in 2012, well, you wouldn't want to have all those premiums weighing you down by then, would you?

For anyone interested in interstellar intrigue, this book may well be worth a look. If you are seeking information on the historical Maya, there are much better choices listed elsewhere on this page.

I wish there was more authors like Mr. Osmanagich.. Awesome book.. Give it a read you will not be disappointed. Especially coming from someone so highly decorated with education and credentials. You might also find it interesting that the author discovered a full scale ancient pyramid in Bosnia. Google it: "Semir Osmanagich Bosnian Pyramid"