Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This classic series has inspired nearly 2 million readers. Both loyal fans and new readers will want the latest edition of this beloved series. This edition includes a foreword from the publisher, a preface from Francine Rivers and discussion questions suitable for personal and group use. #3 As Sure As the Dawn: Atretes. German warrior. Revered gladiator. He won his freedom through his fierceness . . . But his life is about to change forever.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Because of the wealth of new archaeological data and breakthroughs in the translation of hieroglyphs, Coe's updating of his classic synthesis of Maya civilization provides a valuable service to both informed lay readers and specialists wishing to apprise themselves of the current state of understanding of this most intellectually sophisticated and aesthetically refined pre-Columbian culture. Although the vast majority of the text may be found in the prior edition, the work is transformed by significant interpolations and deletions and is augmented by a new section of color plates, a useful guide for travelers, and a listing of Maya rulers. As it now stands, this refreshed and renewed little masterpiece merits a place in collections serving students of ancient Mesoamerica. Continuing a tradition of massive exhibitions and concomitant exhibition catalogs, the Palazzo Grassi, Venice, has at last discovered the New World. This initial incursion wisely focuses on the most accessible of the great pre-Hispanic cultures, the Maya. In this daunting but unfocused potpourri, some 29 essayists broach nearly the full range of Maya historical, societal, intellectual, political, and artistic traditions with varying degrees of competence. As is common with collective efforts of this sort, one finds both a certain redundancy of elementary facts and a not infrequent inconsistency about the facts themselves. Crammed into the last hundred pages of the volume is the catalog of more than 500 well-illustrated but only perfunctorily documented and analyzed objects. Aside from its value as a remarkable gathering of some 1400 excellent color reproductions, this ill-balanced and ultimately superficial tome has little to recommend it.ÄRobert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Anthropologists/archaeologists Coe (emer., Yale) and Houston (social sciences, Brown Univ., and Coe's former student) have coauthored the latest edition of the most-used, authoritative, and scholarly textbook on Mesoamerican Maya civilization. Coe, the foremost scholar on the subject, has conducted foundational research on Maya ceramic chronology, Olmec archaeology, and decipherment of Maya epigraphic writing, authoring 20 books and monographs as well as all editions of this book since the first (CH, Jul/Aug'67). A majority of this well-written synthesis may be found in the eighth edition (2011), but the authors incorporate much new, up-to-date research on sites, astronomy, and hieroglyphic translations, and synthesize the latest conclusions about Maya culture from the Olmec-related beginnings to the present day. Accompanied by 213 splendid illustrations (28 in color), the ten-chapter narrative balances in-depth discussions of the Preclassic, three Classic (Early, Late, and Terminal, incorporating the "Collapse"), and Postclassic periods, the Spanish conquest, and contemporary Maya peoples. A list of Classic period rulers, information about visiting the region, a 183-item "Further Reading" list, and a superb index are included in this well-bound book printed on glossy paper. A must for both informed lay readers and specialists. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Charles C. Kolb, independent scholar