On December 21, 2012, a Maya calendar cycle of 5,125 years that began in 3114 B.C. will end and another era of 13 baktuns will begin (a baktun is a time span of roughly 400 years). The implications of this transition are discussed in hundreds of books. Here are a couple of recent titles I recommend to get a grasp on the entire 2012 phenomenon, from different perspectives. This is only the tiny tip of an enormous iceberg.

Berman, Joshua. Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras. Berkeley, CA: Avalon Travel, 2011. This book is a 100-page companion guide for anyone traveling in the Mundo Maya in the year 2012, when year-long celebrations of all things Maya will take place in Belize and beyond. Find out how to witness a solstice sunrise from atop a Maya temple, visit an archaeological dig, stay with a family in a traditional Maya village, or experience multi-country 2012 Maya tours. Visit www.moon.com for more information.

González, Gaspar Pedro. 13 B’aktun: Mayan Visions of 2012 and Beyond. North Atlantic Books, 2010. González is a Q’anjobal Maya novelist, philosopher, and scholar from Guatemala. This book (translated to English by Dr. Robert Sitler) is unlike any other you’ll read on the subject. It is written as a deep, lyrical dialogue—not just about 2012, but about all of creation, blending “past and present thought into a persuasive plan for moving into the new era.”

Jenkins, John Major. The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History. Tarcher, 2009. Jenkins is one of the most prolific, passionate 2012-ologists out there. 2012 Story is his most all-encompassing book yet, covering the entire story—from the ancients’ forward-reaching stone inscriptions to the modern-day 2012 meme, to a summary of his and others’ work on the subject.

Sitler, Robert, PhD. The Living Maya: Ancient Wisdom in the Era of 2012. North Atlantic Books, 2010. This book begins with the Yucatec Maya greeting “Bix a bel?” which means, “How is your road?” And that’s right where the author puts us—on the road in the Guatemalan highlands and southern Mexico. Robert Sitler, PhD, is a professor at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. In The Living Maya, he draws lessons from his four decades studying Maya culture and traveling in the Mundo Maya. The most important messages we can take from the Maya, he writes, are: “Cherish our babies, connect with our communities, revere the natural world that sustains us, seek the wisdom of humanity’s elders, and immerse ourselves in direct experience of this divine world.”