In the recent past, a working knowledge of the Maya script has been confined to epigraphers, art historians and other specialists. This is a compact, portable guide to enable students, tourists and armchair travellers to read and understand commonly encountered Classic Maya texts.

A noted Mayanist and an accomplished calligrapher decipher real Maya texts, taking the latest research and breakthroughs into account, adding glyphs, updating captions, and reinterpreting or expanding upon earlier decipherments.