Set in strife-torn Guatemala City in the early 1980s, this sophisticated, quasi-comedic tale depicts the decline and near-fall of a prominent Guatemalan Jewish family. In the face of military rule, terrorism, and sabotage, Marcos learns the truth about his brother Aaron, only to find that sibling secrets can be every bit as dangerous as civil unrest.

Discovered in a church in Chichicastenango in 1701, the "Popol Vuj" is one of the few Mayan documents to survive the Spanish conquest. Stories that describe the creation of the Maya universe and humans are presented in vivid images and captivating text in this first authoritative children's version of the ancient and sacred text.

The Mayans have long fascinated modern readers with their complex written language, sophisticated mathematics, and advanced astronomy. In Guatemala in 1558, a young Mayan K iche man transcribed what he called a sacred book that we can no longer see. This was the Popul Vuh, the Mayans' written account of the creation of the universe, the gods and demi-gods who occupied that universe, and the story of how man was created by them. Furthermore, it traced, generation by generation, the lineage of the Mayan lords down to their imprisonment and torture by the Spanish invaders. Considered the Mayan...

"Based on a true story, The Mastermind is a tense political thriller about a successful Guatemalan lawyer whose life takes a strange turn when a failed affair leads to his faking his own death and implicating the government. Unger s searing political criticism blends with gripping real-life details to sketch an unforgettable picture of modern Guatemalan society."
--World Literature Today
"The Mastermind teems with the pulse of daily life in the tropics: the sights and sounds, the smells and tastes. He takes millionaires, whores, provocateurs, hit men,...