Having collaborated previously on articles and book chapters about Mayan languages, Robertson (emeritus linguistics), Robbie A. Haertel (computer science, both Brigham Young U.) and Danny Law (anthropology, U. of Texas-Austin) offer an edition of the only document written in Colonial Ch'olti', which was spoken in southern Yucatan at the time of contact, and may be a linear descendent of the language of the Mayan ideographs. After chapters on the language and manuscript, they present the text of the religious sections, line by line in orthographically regularized transcription, morphemic analysis, and two alternative translations. Following that are photographs of the manuscript pages with matching transcription on facing pages. Among the back matter are a Spanish translation, contemporary essays on the language in English, additional sections of the journal, and an English-Spanish-Ch'olti' word list. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)