Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer

Book Description

An exquisitely illustrated history and exploration of Angkor, the world's most astonishing architectural treasure.

Built between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries by a succession of twelve Khmer kings, Angkor spreads over 120 square miles in Southeast Asia and includes scores of major architectural sites. In 802, when construction began on Angkor Wat, with wealth from rice and trade, Jayavarman ll took the throne, initiating an unparalleled period of artistic and architectural achievement, exemplified in the fabled ruins of Angkor, center of the ancient empire. Among the amazing pyramid and mandala shaped shrines preserved in the jungles of Cambodia, is Angkor Wat, the world's largest temple, an extraordinarily complex structure filled with iconographic detail and religious symbolism. Perhaps because of the decline of agricultural productivity and the expansion of the Thai Empire, Angkor was abandoned in the fifteenth century and left to the ravages of time. Today, many countries continue efforts to conserve and restore the temples, which have been inaccessible until recently. Now that the civil war has ended, Angkor is being reborn and is an increasingly popular tourist destination.

Undaunted by the difficulties of traveling through Cambodia and eastern Thailand, Jon Ortner, accompanied by his wife Martha, has photographed fifty of the most important and unique monuments of the Khmer Empire. His images include spectacular views from the rooftops of its temples, glorious landscapes, and details of inscriptions and art that few have ever seen.

The text by a team of distinguished experts provides historical, architectural, and religious analyses of Angkor and the Khmer civilization. The Appendix offers a glossary, a chronology of construction, and a chart of the kings and their accomplishments. Black-and-white floor plans and historic watercolors complete this breathtaking tribute.

Other details: 240 illustrations, 225 in full color

Customer Reviews:

Angkor Wat .......2007-09-06

Excellent book! I wish I had known about this book before I went to Angkor Wat.

Photobook Angkor.......2007-06-07

Angkor, Celestial temples of the Khmer Empire is a photobook limited to the Angkor Site and some outlining temples. Although the quality of the photo's is excellent, the book itself with regards to the informative value is disappointing. An exception to this is the chronology of sites. Angkor: Temples et monumentsThe Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide)Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)Ancient Angkor (River Book Guides)Angkor Cities and Temples

Outstanding Photos and history.......2006-03-09

I purchased three books on Angkor Wat after my week visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia and this book was by far the best I have seen. The photos are excellent and the narration in very informative. It is expensive but worth it.

Awesome Angkor.......2005-04-09

Wow, what a spectacular book, truly amazing. I was blown away by the quality of the photography, the reader actually feels like they are in the jungle amid the ruins of Angkor. I have never visited Angkor Wat and probably never will, but after experiencing this book, I feel somehow that I have been there. The quality of the book is superior and the book even comes in a wonderful case. The publisher should be congradulated, it's a luxurious book. Some books are extremely expensive and you wonder why, I can assure you, you will not ask that about this one. If you have any interest in this subject or just like to own beautiful things I urge you to purchase this book, it will be a jewel in your book collection

A Must-Have Book on Angkor Temples.......2004-02-02

Through his magical photographic eye, Jon Ortner has created a wondrous collection of striking images and scholarly prose. His perfectly lit photographs and well-documented historic descriptions allow one to easily understand this complicated ancient subject. Each temple is clearly organized into relevant sections from the central Angkor area to the rare and never-before-seen temples in the outer lying areas. If you have visited Angkor - Ortner's book is the perfect addition to your library. Or, if you have not visited, this book provides the perfect impetus.

Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency (PSI Classics of the Counterinsurgency Era)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book
A Learning Tool

Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency (PSI Classics of the Counterinsurgency Era)
Roger Trinquier
Manufacturer: Praeger Security International Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0275992683

Book Description

This volume in the Praeger Security International (PSI) series "Classics of the Counterinsurgency Era" reveals how French officers who served in Indochina, like the author, Roger Trinquier, fought fierce rear-guard actions against ideologically motivated insurgents in the 1940s and 1950s to a far greater extent than their American counterparts later faced in Vietnam. The lack of coherent strategic direction from Paris in the chaotic years of the Fourth Republic left the military with the task of making political decisions in the field. With the original introduction by Bernard B. Fall and a new foreword prepared by Eliot A. Cohen.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2007-01-04

This book was written in 1964, distilling the author's decades of counterinsurgency experience in Indochina and Algeria. However, as I was reading it, I found that he could have been speaking about Iraq in present day. In reading this book, a reader can realize exactly where we went wrong in Iraq and what we need to do in order to get it right. Unfortunately the generals still haven't learned from Trinquier's experience or apparently read the book. However, the planned "surge" (being discussed as of January 2007) would be in line with what Trinquier recommends.

I am also reading the Galula book. I find the Trinquier book to be an easier read, and possibly a better book (although Galula gets all the recognition).

A Learning Tool.......2007-01-03

This should required reading for anyone about to deploy to OEF or OIF. The lessons taught in this book have direct applicability to today and the types of conflicts that we are currently engaged.

Islands and Ancestors: Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia (African, Asian & Oceanic Art)

Average customer rating:

Necessary but not Perfect

Islands and Ancestors: Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia (African, Asian & Oceanic Art)
N. Y.) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York
Manufacturer: Prestel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Prehistoric & Primitive | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 3791308998

Customer Reviews:

Necessary but not Perfect.......2002-04-08

Unfortunately there are few texts that provide a survey of Indonesian art and culture. For that reason this book is a must-have for anyone interested in that area. However, the chapters are choppy and at times difficult to read. It is a challenge to determine each chapter's main point and how each chapter relates to the others. More than once I turned a page and thought I had missed a paragraph, because the next word in the sentence did not seem to make sense. This book is valuable for its photographs and for the information it does provide, if you don't mind a less than fluid read.

War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters who Covered Vietnam

Average customer rating:

a special perspective
A Different Look at Vietnam
Fantastic for a Newcomer to the Vietnam War
Fascinating stories of courage
Where was I?

War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters who Covered Vietnam
Tad Bartimus , Tracy Wood , Kate Webb , Laura Palmer , Edith Lederer , and Jurate Kazickas
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375506284
Release Date: 2002-08-20

Book Description

For the first time, nine women who made journalism history talk candidly about their professional and deeply personal experiences as young reporters who lived, worked, and loved surrounded by war. Their stories span a decade of America’s involvement in Vietnam, from the earliest days of the conflict until the last U.S. helicopters left Saigon in 1975.

They were gutsy risk-takers who saw firsthand what most Americans knew only from their morning newspapers or the evening news. Many had very particular reasons for going to Vietnam—some had to fight and plead to go—but others ended up there by accident. What happened to them was remarkable and important by any standard. Their lives became exciting beyond anything they had ever imagined, and the experience never left them. It was dangerous—one was wounded, and one was captured by the North Vietnamese—but the challenges they faced were uniquely rewarding.

They lived at full tilt, making an impact on all the people around them, from the orphan children in the streets to their fellow journalists and photographers to the soldiers they met and lived with in the field. They experienced anguish and heartbreak—and an abundance
of friendship and love. These stories not only introduce a remarkable group of individuals but give an entirely new perspective on the most controversial conflict in our history. Vietnam changed their lives forever. Here they tell about it with all the candor, commitment, and energy that characterized their courageous reporting during the war.

Customer Reviews:

a special perspective.......2005-11-29

A unique insight to the ravages of the wars of the mid 20th century from the viewpointss of a group of female corrrespondents who had to claw their way through the jungles
of the eastern asia and the media industry to get their views
across....highly recommended to gain an added persective of a
turbulant time in world history

A Different Look at Vietnam.......2002-10-20

The stories in War Torn are riveting and capture the will and determination of women journalists to have equal access to cover the war. But they also bring Saigon and Vietnam in the 60s and 70 alive to anyone too young to remember. I applaud these women for making the Vietnam war accessible to a generation who grew up after the war.
War Torn leave the reader happy and sad but thoroughly enchanted. For anyone who is a history buff, a traveler planning to visit Vietnam or simply a lover of great tales, I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic for a Newcomer to the Vietnam War.......2002-10-05

I don't know much about Vietnam, but I was drawn to the book by the sad and thoughtful face on the cover. My highest praise to these women. They brought the Vietnam war alive to someone who was not even born at its conclusion. The stories are beautiful, sad, funny and touching. My thanks to the authors for putting such a wonderful piece of writing and important part of history down on paper.

Fascinating stories of courage.......2002-09-05

WAR TORN is a brilliant and riveting collection of essays by the handful of smart and courageous women who actually went to the battlefields in Asia to report on the Vietnamese War. For everyone who served in the war or had loved ones who did, for those of us who lived through these events at home, and for younger readers who have no sense of this history, this compelling book reveals these critical years from a perspective most of us never knew existed. The stories of these nine brave women will capture your minds and break your heart a bit. A thorougly uplifting and informative book with stories you've never heard before.

Where was I?.......2002-09-02

" Having been born in the early forties, Vietnam was MY war. Unlike the women of WAR TORN, I busied myself with raising a family in the good, old, safe & sound USA. I cannot say enough about the impact this book had on me. These selfless, courageous, determined correspondents took me on a tour of a Vietnam that I never knew existed. Reading WAR TORN was truly an educational, eye-opening experience for me. They way these women express their adventures, insights, and emotions is absolutely glorious. This is a must read for people of all ages."

The Khmer Empire: Cities and Sactuaries from the 5th to the 13th Century

Average customer rating:

The Khmer Empire

The Khmer Empire: Cities and Sactuaries from the 5th to the 13th Century
Claude Jacques
Manufacturer: River Books Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9749863305

Book Description

The richness and diversity of the Khmer Empire are shown here through stunning photographs, site plans, aerial shots of ancient cities and more.

Customer Reviews:

The Khmer Empire.......2007-06-05

The Khmer Empire, Cities and Sanctuaries from the 5th to the 13th Century is a fantastic book with up to date detailed information about the most important khmer architecture in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. The information is complete including maps, floor plans, photographs and a chronology of the Khmer Kings. Lacking is a chronology of the sites. This book is a must for those interested in the Khmer culture, architecture, temples , archaeology and history. It is certainly helpfull to understand the importance of each monument not only before visiting the sites but also after visiting them.Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places)Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)

Average customer rating:

Art of the Butterfly
Ed Marquand
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0877017840

Average customer rating:

At Home in Bali
low quality photography
beautifully photographed book
Disappointed
Homes with Personality - Bali Style

At Home in Bali
Made Wijaya
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0789204673

Book Description

An insider's look at the exotic, decorative lifestyle of the "island of the gods."

Since early this century, Bali's beauty and the remarkable spirit of its people have attracted a steady stream of artists, architects, anthropologists, mystics, and celebrities from all over the world. These new residents have interpreted traditional Balinese style with elegant, chic, eccentric, and inspiring results.

Featured in this exquisitely illustrated volume are 23 of the most exceptional homes on the island, all shown in their lush tropical surroundings. They include houses in the traditional village style, the pondok pavilion dwellings of the rice fields, royal palaces, beach houses, and spectacular mountain residences. The book also features homes with magnificently designed gardens, as well as courtyard shrines and the public temples that play a role in Balinese life for both natives and newer residents.

An international source list of Balinese wares completes this insider's tour of the island, making At Home in Bali the next best thing to being there.

260 illustrations, 250 in full color

Customer Reviews:

At Home in Bali.......2003-12-18

Australian-born landscape designer and architect Made Wijaya (ne Michael White), resident on Bali since 1973, takes us on a private, guided color photo tour of twenty-four exquisite dream dwellings of the rich and famous. This lush pictorial essay displays the diversity, romance, and mystery of Balinese architecture: gorgeous bamboo and coconut wood barn houses, traditional rice storage bungalows, sumptuous estate grounds, water buffalo hide canopies, extravagant plunge pools, modern beachfront compounds hidden away in pandanus thickets, and royal water palaces. The reader's memory fills in the exotic, background atmosphere of dimly lit, shadowy courtyards; languid open-air pavilions; lava stone shrine silhouettes; the night time tinkle of village gamelan music through the thick foliage--and the sweet Asian smell of heat, flowers, and fire.
The concept of "home" in Bali is the "buana alit," a "small world," or microcosm of the greater world outside: lavish photo after photo transports us inside houses set like precious jewels in sculpted rice fields, rural villages, and isolated mountain eyries. This is where lucky strangers in paradise (painters, anthropologists, celebrities, rock stars, socialites, film makers, architects) have selectively carved out their own individual piece of an island paradise. Wijaya reminds us that the foreigners who came to Bali and fell in love with it designed these magnificent retreats as an extension of and as "an homage to that love." Photographer Ginanneschi uses a crisp, telling juxtaposition of interspliced color and black and white imagery to depict the contrasting spheres of east and west, and of native-born Balinese and their adopted, reborn-as-Balinese neighbors. The exceptional residences of the expatriates are recorded in brilliant splashy color while the everyday lives of the local people are shot in hazy, almost sepia-tone black and white. These muted snapshots capture the busy communal essence of Balinese life: readers are left to marvel at the sea of faces, families, and communities, and the elaborate pageantry of village markets, rituals, and religious ceremonies. For all their splendor and opulence, the glossy Architectural Digest showplaces appear deserted and surreal--compellingly isolated from the vibrant, teeming life swirling all around them. At Home in Bali has great appeal for devotees of fine homes and gardens and architecture buffs (note the Javanese, South Indian, Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese styles and influences). Tourists to Bali will treasure this book as a special keepsake of the natural (and manmade) beauty they have savored during their eye-opening sojourn to the center of the archipelago.

low quality photography.......2003-04-28

I agree with Mr. Chiu in one of the previous reviews. I was expecting great photography in this type of book, but instead the book is filled with small, grainy, blury pictures. A much better 'Coffee Table' book is 'Tropical Asian Style', in my opinion.

beautifully photographed book.......2003-04-24

I would like to comment on a previous review, on this fine book, as a photographer i am happy to see Isabella Giananneschi work as different from the usual "sharp" "crispy" and predictable images, hers is very expressive and for someone who lives for 6 months in a year in Bali, she was able to capture the mood of the place beautifully. I also believed that she should be credited for bringing her work to a higher level of sophistication.this book is a must buy and 5 stars to the photographer and the author for thier efforts!

Disappointed.......2002-12-04

First my complaints.

For what I consider to be a coffee table book, the quality of the photographs (on average 1-2 per page), was incredibly poor. They were simply very blurry and not sharp at all.

The book also doesn't quite know whether it wants to be a book on architecture, interior design or Bali society gossip column. I especially hated the constant name dropping on "so and so" used to be the life of the Bali party scene and how extravagant the parties were (well, I guess that has gone away definitely since the Bali bombings). I don't mind a short blurbs on the owners, but enough is enough.

Now to the good points.

The author is a well known and accomplished landscape architect in Bali, so he obviosly knows what he is talking about and what the owner was trying to accomplish in creating these wonderful houses.

But I think you can get the same thing from other recent books by the same author, which has much sharper and clearer photos.

Homes with Personality - Bali Style.......2000-08-27

With an eye for style and a love of -make that obsession with- personality, Made Wijaya leads the reader on a glorious tour of Bali's most stylish homes.

Text covers not only design sensibility but also the general history of homes, gardens, and sometimes whole villages. This attention to pedigree may irk that reader who's looking only for design tips or sources, but that's pure Wijaya. His unique descriptions are amusing and his name-dropping stays on the polite side of gossip. Reading this book, I became grateful to Wijaya for caring enough to record the architectural history of Batu Jimbar, Sayan, and other pockets of Bali chic. Just as the jungle can overgrow a garden in one rainy season, historical details can be lost as people die or move on... Wijaya's appetite for who's who has spawned this delightful record of what hands moulded the walls, seeded the gardens, and chose the accessories for any featured house.

Book Description

This volume in the Praeger Security International (PSI) series "Classics of the Counterinsurgency Era" by two officers-one from the Philippines and the other from America-who fought as guerrillas against the Japanese occupation and went on to defeat the Huk rebellion after World War II. Unlike many other accounts of counterinsurgency operations that focus on theoretical principles and their tactical applications, the authors examine the means to assess the strengths and weaknesses of insurgencies. An enduring contribution of this book is its emphasis on the importance of intelligence in combating insurgent movements. With a new foreword prepared by Kalev Sepp.

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