The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing - Hardcover

Stephen Houston (editor), Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos (editor) & David Stuart (editor)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806132043 ISBN 13: 9780806132044

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001

Synopsis

The deadliest campaign of vigilante justice in American history erupted in the Rocky Mountains during the Civil War when a private army hanged twenty-one troublemakers. Hailed as great heroes at the time, the Montana vigilantes are still revered as founding fathers.Combing through original sources, including eye-witness accounts never before published, Frederick Allen concludes that the vigilantes were justified in their early actions, as they fought violent crime in a remote corner beyond the reach of government.But Allen has uncovered evidence that the vigilantes refused to disband after territorial courts were in place. Remaining active for six years, they lynched more than fifty men without trials. Reliance on mob rule in Montana became so ingrained that in 1883, a Helena newspaper editor advocated a return to “decent, orderly lynching” as a legitimate tool of social control.Allen’s sharply drawn characters, illustrated by dozens of photographs, are woven into a masterfully written narrative that will change textbook accounts of Montana’s early days—and challenge our thinking on the essence of justice.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Houston is the Dupee Family Professor of Social Sciences at Brown University. The author of numerous books and articles, he is also an archaeologist who has excavated and mapped Classic Maya cities for more than 25 years. A MacArthur Fellow, Houston is also the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation.

David Stuart is co-owner of Plants from the Past, a nursery specializing in antique garden plants. He has been a garden columnist for The Scotsman, the Sunday Times, The Obeserver and The Independent. He has written and photographed for many magazines, including Gardens Illustrated and Country Homes and Interiors, and is the author of many successful books.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0806132043
• ISBN 13: 9780806132044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 576