I found this book interesting and I learned a lot. It is a short book with three essays about the Codice Maya de Mexico and a chapter on how to read it. The first essay includes a lot of astronomy and the technical purpose of the Codice. The second essay was about the archeological evidence and lack of evidence including all the tests conducted to prove the authenticity and the travels the Codice has made. The third essay was my favorite. It described the cultural importance of the Codice and how important it is to the Maya. At the end there are illustrations and show how to read it. Overall this a nicely presented book about the oldest surviving book of the Americas.

In the book Códice Maya de México Andrew D. Turner has assembled several essays together which provide detailed insight into the oldest surviving pre-Hispanic book produced in the Americas. It is an engaging read providing fascinating information about the not only the history and study of a particular archaeological object, but also presents a rich exploration of the culture and practices of the people who produced and used it. The material covering the authentication process and descriptions of the modern techniques used to analyse the document with nondestructive methods was interesting and informative.

The images and explanations of the Codice included at the end of the book are fascinating and instructive.

Thank you NetGalley and Getty Publications for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Getty Publications for access to this arc.

A few years ago, I watched a documentary called "Breaking the Maya Code" (made in 2008) that discussed how the glyph writing of the Maya language was finally cracked. It also briefly discussed the three Maya codices (now all in Europe) and one that had been discovered in the mid 1960s and which had - at that point - not conclusively been authenticated. When I saw this book I wondered if it was about that last codex, the one supposedly found in a cave and that had left Mexico under fishy circumstances before being returned and that had first been denounced as a fake only for later scholars to argue with that assessment.

Yes, the book is about that codex. The one that some said couldn't have survived for hundreds of years in a cave. The one that we still don't know exactly where it was found or by whom. The one that has been studied and subjected to more scientific examinations than any other Mesoamerican codex. The one whose authentication was determined by a vibrant color paint called Maya Blue, all the ingredients of which still hadn't been totally elucidated in the mid 1960s meaning that forgers couldn't have known how to mimic it.


Several authorities contributed to the book. We learn about the reason for it - to describe a 104 year cycle of the planet Venus which the ancient Maya astronomers correctly knew was one planet instead of two different ones. We learn about all the scientific experiments done on it. There is a wonderful chapter written by a modern descendent of the Maya whose course of study was determined by his fascination with it and determination to learn to read the language of his ancestors. The final chapter describes in detail the meaning of each of the surviving pages. And since this is being produced by the J. Paul Getty museum for an exhibition of the codex there, it's filled with wonderful photographs. If I were going to be in Los Angeles during its stay, I'd be lining up to see it but this book is a fair substitute for that experience. B+

Very interesting read. I enjoyed learning the history of this Mayan codex. However, the section concerning the testing done on it was a little too scholarly for me. Reading it is not the same as seeing it done in a documentary. But again...a very interesting read,

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

Short, but full of fascinating detail, Códice Maya de México: Understanding the Oldest Surviving Book of the Americas provides a full exploration of the most recently discovered fourth surviving book of the Mayas. The other volumes are held in Europe and named for the cities where they currently reside. The Códice Maya de México demonstrates a culture barely saved from erasure by European colonialism.

Presented here are a collection of separate essays. The reader learns of the Mayas and their culture, with a special focus on astronomy and books; the re-discovery of this volume, scientific analysis of the pigments and other materials compromising the book and a full translations of the surviving content.

As one would expect from the Getty, the images are exemplary, particularly in providing supplemental evidence when discussing the findings of the scientific analysis. The volume also includes a full color facsimile.

An interesting collection of interpretations of Mayan artifacts and inscriptions. Perfect for the history buff and story teller. Gives a glimpse into the minds of the ancient Mexicans.