On December 21, 2012, there will be an opportunity for the meek to prevail. So speaks one of the Mexican sages in Jock Whitehouse's 2012 anti-apocalypse book The Ledge of Quetzal. "There was a growing momentum of darkness in the world. As climate change spawned wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods; as earthquakes and mudslides turned entire villages into rubble; as political, social and religious differences gave rise to terrorism, genocide, and war; as the world teetered on the edge of economic chaos, it was not hard to imagine apocalypse in the making. The Maya, however, along with numerous other cultures and disciplines, had somehow discerned the largest cosmic cycles of man's destiny and the forces that surrounded it. And in those cycles they found, like the pause of a pendulum at its apogee, an opportunity for total change. It was like a second chance for all mankind." Yes, the weather is changing, world economies are shaky, terrorism and nationalism and fanatical leaders threaten global security. Some say civilization is ending. Can it be saved? Yes. Who can do that? We can. That’s the message that comes through in this wild adventure story - in the tradition of Castaneda and Coelho, deep into the heart of southern Mexico and its rich traditions of plant-based hallucinogens and the spiritual clarity they awaken.

A comprehensive, timely and entertaining account of the political, cultural and economic dynamics of more than 30 discrete countries of the Western Hemisphere, this book is updated each year, providing students with the most recent information possible. The information is presented in an objective, balanced, non-ideological context, allowing the readers to formulate their own opinions. In addition to examining individual countries, the book views Latin America as a mosaic region as a whole and emphasizes its growing influence on the world stage. Besides providing accurate and timely information on the historical and political forces that have shaped each nation, it also examines the leading cultural figures and forces, from 18th century writers to 20th century composers and singing stars to 21st century filmmakers and actors. Finally, it describes the social and economic challenges that continue to afflict this exciting and emerging region.

In this exhilarating sequel to his acclaimed Ledge of Quetzal, Whitehouse takes us to the sacred ballgame at Chichen Itza (Kukulkan) that will determine the fate of human life on earth. In the tradition of Carlos Castaneda and Paolo Coelho, Jock Whitehouse’s Dawn on Kukulkan returns us to the magical landscape of Southern Mexico and the further spiritual adventures of Daniel Bancroft, the protagonist hero of The Ledge of Quetzal. After witnessing the Great Economic Meltdown of September 2008, and the shattering of a collective confidence in the future, Daniel once again finds himself flying to Mexico on a sacred journey – this time to the great playing field that lies at the entrance to Kukulkan, the Mayan temple at Chichen Itza, where a ballgame to determine the fate of life on earth is to be played out before sunrise on 12/21/2012. An intimate journey of personal transformation and spiritual awakening, this book is also a wake-up call in fable form: we can reverse the destructive course of humanity but only if we are courageous enough to dismantle the illusion of our differences and embrace our connection as one human family.

The Rough Guide to Central America on a Budget is the definitive guide to making the most of this exotic region without breaking the bank. Backpackers, career-breakers, gap year travellers and those who want more bang for their buck, will find in depth budget information for all seven Central American countries and every aspect of travel. From accommodation and restaurants to special events, festivals and adrenalin-pumping outdoor activities, this guide is packed with the best budget information for night-life, shopping, markets and entertainment, as well as "Treat Yourself" boxes that highlight great places and things worth splashing out on. There is a full-colour introduction with highlights for every country. You'll also find useful words and phrases in every language and detailed maps for hundreds of locations. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Central America on a Budget.

The definitive handbook for budget travellers to the region, the Rough Guide covers all seven Central American countries in depth. Whether you want to go scuba-diving in crystal-clear marine reserves, kick back in unspoilt colonial hill towns, trek throug

The myths of the Aztec and Maya derive from a shared Mesoamerican cultural tradition. This is very much a living tradition, and many of the motifs and gods mentioned in early sources are still evoked in the lore of contemporary Mexico and Guatemala. Professor Taube discusses the different sources for Aztec and Maya myths. The Aztec empire began less than 200 years before the Spanish conquest, and our knowledge of their mythology derives primarily from native colonial documents and manuscripts commissioned by the Spanish. The Maya mythology is far older, and our knowledge of it comes mainly from native manuscripts of the Classic period, over 600 years before the Spanish conquest. Drawing on these sources as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century excavations and research, including the interpretation of the codices and the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing, the author discusses, among other things, the Popol Vuh myths of the Maya, the flood myth of Northern Yucatan, and the Aztec creation myths.

As heard on NPR's This American Life “Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” —Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins—some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them—and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.

The legend of Quetzalcóatl is the enduring epic myth of Mesoamerica. The gods create the universe, but man must carefully tend to the harmony of the world. Without spiritual attention to harmony, chaos may reign, destroying the universe and civilization. The ancient Mexicans, like other peoples throughout the world, wrestled with ideas and metaphors by which to know the Godhead and developed their own concepts about their relationship to the universe. Quetzalcóatl came to the Toltecs to teach them art, agriculture, peace, and knowledge. He was a redeemer god, and his story inspires, instructs, and entertains, as do all the great myths of the world. Now available in paperback, the Lord of the Dawn is Anaya’s exploration of the cosmology and the rich and complex spiritual thought of his Native American ancestors. The story depicts the daily world of man, the struggle between the peacemakers and the warmongers, and the world of the gods and their role in the life of mankind.

This book was the first serious scholarly attempt in nearly a century to put in narrative form the exciting and important history of the Mexican Indians who founded Tenochtitlan and who created from it what is known as the Aztec empire. Although many native sources, often in translations with scholarly annotations. became available in the twentieth century, the corpus of this material was scattered and uncoordinated. Burr Cartwright Brundage has utilized these sources to produce a consecutive narrative that portrays direction and purpose in the evolution of the Aztec empire. A Rain of Darts is the first one-volume history of the Mexica, historically the most important of the Aztec peoples. The focus of the narrative is on the political state produced by the Mexica during their stormy history. The eleven Mexica reigns that preceded the Spanish Conquest are investigated, their triumphs and errors explained, and the lives of their great leaders illuminated where the sources allow. The narrative opens with the first appearance of the Mexica out of the arid north; it details their aimless wandering, the founding of the city of Mexico in the waters of Lake Tezcoco, their desperate struggle for independence (successfully achieved in 1428), and the flourishing of the new state and its curiously structured empire. This history concludes with an analysis of the character of Moteuczoma II, and investigates the final sickness of the Mexican state. Cortez and his small army of Spaniards are seen here for the first time in historical literature through the eyes of the people they conquered. The Mexica Aztecs remain at the center of the narrative. The Mexica were unable to build a tightly knit empire because of the elitist, international warrior class and its peculiar cult of war and sacrifice. To the Mexica, warfare and bloodshed were sacraments; the teuctli or knightly warrior was the priest of this cult. to which he was as loyal as to the state. In this lay the uniqueness of the Mexican state and the seeds of its tragic end in 1521.