Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea (Peabody Essex Museum) (Elgar In Association with the Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO)

After having visited Chichen Itza, Tulum and Xel Ha I have a great interest in Mayan history and culture. I nearly followed a parrot fish into an underwater cave absolutely swarming with colourful fish whilst snorkelling at Xel Ha, the fish with it's Mayan mythological place as guardian of the waters there appeared to want to show me its domain, and it was a lovely experience, and so you could say it is no surprise I was interested in the subject of this particular book!It came shrink wrapped and is beautiful just to peruse as a coffee table book, with many images of mayan artifacts etc, but I am looking forward to reading it fully, and if I remember will come back to add to this review once I have done so.

As noted by previous reviewers, many of the images in this catalog of the show currently at the Peabody Essex Museum have never been seen before. Indeed, some of the pieces in the show have never been out of the curatorial shelves of the various institutions to which they have been entrusted. Thus it is indeed a treat to see the images and read the short but concise descriptions.The show and this catalog also deal with a previously, and still, little touched upon aspect of Maya culture and art. The role of the sea and water in the Maya mythos and cosmos.You cannot view the images and read the material and not be struck by the similarity of some of the works, and by the similarity to the beliefs (or what we think we know of the beliefs) of the Mississippian culture. But, that of course is beyond the aim and exploration of this exhibition and catalog. For those who are interested in the Maya, it would be a mistake not to take a look at this book.

This was a gorgeous, over-sized, heavy book. It was packed with care and arrived in perfect shape. Excellent price.

Excellent photographs. Small but well argumented texts for each one of the 99 archaeological Maya items organized for the exhibition of the same name. Many objects are now seen with detail for the first time, a valuable resource for ancient Maya researchers. The exhibition will visit Salem, Mass.; and Fort Worth, TX in 2010; and the Saint Louis Art Museum during 2011. But you can admire many times the exhibition trapped by this publication.

This exhibition catalogue is first-class in every way. The production quality is excellent and the photos are beautifully done. The artefact descriptions and essays are loaded with information but extremely readable. All the necessary behind-the-scenes information is included. I found Fiery Pool really interesting and enjoyable to read, and consider it a valuable addition to my shelf of books on Precolumbian Mesoamerica.

This book is amazing,I heard about the author Dan Finamore when he was on Bob Ballards exploration vessel the E/V Nautilus.He is a knowledgeable man and interesting to listen to so I could not wait together the book.Thank you Amazon for having so many reliable vendors to purchase from.