This takes it upon itself to cover a lot of ground, but covers it pretty well – and prettily, too. Starting with ten pages or so regarding the Olmecs, the first known major civilisation in their part of the world, we see their stone heads, and other statuary and carving, and snippets of the landscape they called home. Then it's on to the Mayans, who had far more advanced pyramids, and a lot more that is familiar to us today. Their chapter is still only three pages of text – but a lot more besides, with in-depth captions to the illustrations being very nicely judged for the passing browser, as opposed to the specialist. Here are intricate jade death-masks, and even a wooden carving.

And so we progress, with the bulk of the latter pages of course concerning the Incas – although by then, unfortunately, what I saw (courtesy a netgalley digital file) had long degenerated into something with dreadful proof-reading; a lot would have had a Word squiggly red line, for repeated words, bad grammar, sheer nonsense, and untruths. For one, there is no way Machu Picchu was hidden for "thousands of years" when it is from the fifteenth century.

Which is a shame, as this region of the world I feel needs a lot of clarity in the explanation, with all the civilisations supplanting others, and with so much we just don't know now. I mean, I fail to see how you can only recently find figures of 25 stone in weight "on the summit" of mahoosive, exposed pyramid sites. But my curiosity is nothing compared to the general worldwide bafflement that persists about the purpose of Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, and the ridiculous precision of the stonework.

This gives us a good look at museum-grade relics, and world heritage sites, alike, and the near-A4 format would be wonderful to see all the gold and stone remains on. I'm not stating that finished thing had the text problems I saw – and I'm certainly lauding the visuals. I'm throwing a caveat out there, just in case this isn't as good as it should be. Knowing Amber Books' usual standards, I'd still be positive about this and give four stars – but there's a "but" there.

Illustrated book of Mesoamerican art. There is a huge variety of pieces, some of which I have never seen. So many cool pieces of art and historical context.

5 stars

As both a lover of archaeology and a teacher of history, I LOVE this book. It showcases, through beautiful photographs, artifacts of Central and South American civilizations. I will be purchasing a copy of this to reference both in my home and in my classroom. Highly highly recommend.

I just love books like this where you can choose to just enjoy the pictures or learn a lot too. The pictures are amazing-- clear photos of so many artifacts from the Aztecs, Inca and other Mesoamericans. The text is easy to understand and puts the pictures in context, teaching about history and culture. This would be great as a gift or a coffee table book.

This is a great book for anyone who's interested in discovering the Mesoamerican history and art. It gathers a lot of wonderful pictures of the different civilizations that lived in South America centuries ago, with detailed descriptions of archeological sites, art,...

For years, I've been trying to find a book which compiled all of these cultures, even the less known. This one seems like doing the job, although I would have liked a timeline to get a visual idea of the period of each empires.

Aztec
Inca
Mayan
Olmec
Toltec

These name secho across
the ages for
their incredible engineering
accomplishments.
All done with their hands
and their minds.

Every few years we make a new
mind blowing
discovery as to just how
amazingly advanced
they were.
Expanding their sphere
of influence. The scope
of what they accomplished
vastly.

This richly illustrated book explores the art, architecture, and cultural legacy of Mesoamerica, from the rise of the Olmecs to the fall of the Aztecs, showcasing familiar and lesser-known sites and artifacts. The photos are beautiful, while the text is interesting and educational.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.