audiobook The Mayan Prophecies : Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization by Adrian Gilbert; Maurice Cotterell in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Maybe they should stick to facts more and speculate lessBy David MontaigneGilbert and Cotterell do not seem like top Maya scholars; but they do understand the Mayan obsession with world creation; destruction; and rebuilding. They know the Maya were focused on astronomy and how certain alignments may help us understand when future events of world destruction might occur. Cotterell describes what he believes to be a 1;366;040 day sunspot mega cycle; and compares it to the similar 1;366;560 day number in the Dresden Codex of the "Popul Vuh;" which is based on 72 cycles of Calendar Rounds lasting 18;980 days each. Many people; myself included; suspect this is a coincidence and wonder how relevant the 1;366;040 day period is to the magnetic fields of the sun; let alone to the Mayan number which is 520 days longer. This may just be a meaningless near-coincidence. Which is not too surprising after reading part of Adrian Gilbert's description of himself: "I studied Chemistry and Physics at University and though I am a Leo; I have Virgo as my rising sign." To me this sounds like someone with a scientific background who ends up adopting pseudo-scientific views.The authors do a good job covering topics like Mayan culture; myth; calendrics; and astronomy. They also describe their own trips to Mexico and their own theories on sunspots; solar magnetic cycles; astrology; Atlantis; and other topics. One main conclusion is that magnetic changes in the sun will affect the Earth soon; that the sun's great magnetic cycle (which the author thinks is 18;139 years long) will end in catastrophe; bringing destruction to Earth at the end of the Mayan "Calendar" in December 2012. They say this despite noting the Mesoamerican idea that the world would end with one of the 52 year Aztec calendar rounds - for which the next possibility is in 2027.As an author on related topics; I'm all for taking the December 2012 end date seriously. I agree with some of the authors' speculations on cycles of destruction. I'm just not convinced of the validity of the 1;366;040 day cycle and I'm not expecting a pole shift in 2012. Putting some of the authors' more speculative theories aside; the book provides a good introduction to Mayan numbers; cycles; calendar units; and astronomy. Readers could do far worse with other books on the Maya. They could also do better and read John Major Jenkins' "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012." Jenkins takes Maya scholarship up a notch and gives a better explanation of how astronomy is relevant to the end of the Mayan Long Count in December 2012. Readers may also appreciate books like Hancock and Bauval's "Message of the Sphinx;" Hapgood's "Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings;" Weidner and Bridges' "The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye;" and de Santillana and von Dechend's "Hamlet's Mill." None of these suggestions are as pseudo-scientific as "The Mayan Prophecies" - which never really adequately gets into what I would call Mayan prophecies....0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Diamond in the RoughBy Paul M. MurphyThe Mayan PropheciesBy Adrian G. Gilbert and Maurice M. CotterellThis was an easy reading book attempting to interpret Mayan understanding of the world they and now we live in. While; the book covers the astronomical and archeological aspects; the interpretation is clearly put to the common reader. However; the other half of the book is filled with notes to substantiate the narrative front end. As such I found it an entertaining read of the speculative of events to come on December 22; 2012.Mayan concept of time maintains that a great cycle of time is 1;872;000 days. The current great cycle began on Gregorian date 13AUG 3114 BC. This means that this cycle will end on 22DEC2012 AD. I once made an argument to Scientific minded along the lines that if numbering systems were different; our scientific discoveries and therefore our life styles would be different. Well I read in this book how Mayans predict things such as eclipses using tables that were rationalized by astronomic observations as opposed to algebraic method. My point; I learn 10 years later; just think of how many scientific equations include a factor of time. What was more important than the accrual of time day to day was the movement of Venus. And coincidentally; sun spot intervals match the Mayan calendar. At least enough to say uhm?Imagine the sun; because it is gaseous; having four poles. Also imagine that the sun has strips of magnetic fields affecting human behavior. OK at least appreciate the fact ....please do a keyword search on cigarroomofbooks.blog to get further insight on the fantastic book.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. More for the Mayan Prophecy followers...By Kim MaynardInteresting book...nice compilation of information with some new data. I've followed the Maya issues for many years and taken many trips to Mexico and Belize for personal explorations. The Maya predicted major change periodically...and I think they are correct...but I think we give too much credence to a specific day and date for that change. The Maya; from my investigations; took broader views on things and believed in transitions as something growing and progressing and changing; not sharp beginnings and endings. All was flow and transition for the Maya; thus the so-called end of the last Mayan calendar is really the beginning of a new transitional phase for humankind. The quality of this change is unknown; but the Maya believed that their participation could influence the direction of the future and future events.