{"product_id":"a-forest-of-kings-the-untold-story-of-the-ancient-maya-9780688112042","title":"A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe recent interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs has given us the first written history of the New World as it existed before the European invasion. In this book, two of the first central figures in the massive effort to decode the glyphs, Linda Schele and David Freidel, make this history available in all its detail. \u003cem\u003eA Forest of Kings\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of Maya kingship, from the beginning of its institution and the first great pyramid builders two thousand years ago to the decline of Maya civilization and its destruction by the Spanish. Here the great historic rulers of pre-Columbian civilization come to life again with the decipherment of their writing. At its height, Maya civilization flourished under great kings like Shield-Jaguar, who ruled for more than sixty years, expanding his kingdom and building some of the most impressive works of architecture in the ancient world. Long placed on a mist-shrouded pedestal as austere, peaceful stargazers, the Maya elites are now known to have been the rulers of populous, aggressive city-states. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHailed as \"a Rosetta stone of Maya civilization\" (Brian M. Fagan, author of \u003cem\u003ePeople of the Earth\u003c\/em\u003e), \u003cem\u003eA Forest of Kings\u003c\/em\u003e is \"a must for interested readers,\" says Evon Vogt, professor of anthropology at Harvard University. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFreidel, David:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eDavid Freidel has been a Maya archaeologist for twenty years. He teaches at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchele, Linda:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eLinda Schele was a well-known authority on Maya writing and art, and the co-author of many books on the Maya including \u003cem\u003eThe Blood of Kings\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Code of Kings\u003c\/em\u003e. She died in 1998. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50669147750674,"sku":"9780688112042","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cea51242-97fe-4def-86dd-ac9c9a33e9f4.jpg?v=1733756136","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-forest-of-kings-the-untold-story-of-the-ancient-maya-9780688112042","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}