The modern Maya : a culture in transition /

This photographic essay on the contemporary Maya Indians of the Yucatan Peninsula is the result of more than 20 years of travels, residence, and insightful observation of changing lifeways. Maya people are at the center of Everton's more than 125 black-and-white photographs which evocatively document several different "typical" Maya lives and families. The half- or full-page photos are skillfully positioned to complement Everton's interesting, unromanticized but sympathetic account of Maya people and his many years among them. The photos and text are further supplemented by several chapters in which other experts introduce the reader to Everton's work, the ancient Maya, and the place of photography in anthropology. All together, this splendid book is a fine addition to a long tradition of illustration, photography, and writing (from those who have been among the Mayas) that began with the appearance of John L. Stephens's Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (1843).-P. R. Sullivan, Yale University

After many years among the Maya of the Yucatan, photographer Everton has compiled a record of the dilemmas of Maya society in transition. As ideas of other cultures have evolved over time so have approaches to photographic documentation. Far from giving a tourist account of strange, colorful ways, he discloses the bitter socioeconomic realities of forced change by focusing on the daily lives of farmers, cowboys, chicle-gatherers, etc., during the acculturation process. His are human beings, not objects of scientific inquiry. Although it is difficult to assess the quality of the photos from proofs, this is not just a record of conflict between old and new ways; it shows the Maya as dislocated but surviving--as they always have. For special collections.-- Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.