PhotoBooks Cambodia

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 II 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.

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Magnum photographer Steve McCurry has beautifully and evocatively photographed the temples of Angkor in Cambodia, among the world's most impressive monuments. Over one hundred of his images of the site are collected in this stunning book, which documents a magical world of carved gods, weathered masonry, tangled vegetation and orange-robed monks. Angkor was the capital of the Khmer rulers from the end of the ninth century until the mid-fifteenth. Each built a state temple at the capital, surrounded by walls, moats and embankments laid out in accordance with cosmological precepts. Designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the temples attract tourists, archaeologists and art historians, and are also a pilgrimage destination for Buddhist monks. McCurry first visited Angkor on assignment for National Geographic magazine, for whom he has photographed all over the world. He has made many return visits, capturing a sublime portrait of the buildings, sculpture and people of Angkor. Winner of numerous honours, including first prize in the World Press awards and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, McCurry has previously published Portraits and South Southeast (both with Phaidon).

The photographs are accompanied by an informative introduction on the history and meaning of Angkor by John Guy, a leading authority on the cultural history of Southeast Asia. Guy is curator of Indian and Southeast Asian sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and Consultant to UNESCO on historical monuments in Southeast Asia.

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*Check prices and availability in:
UK, Canada, France, Germany or Japan

*Check prices and availability in:
UK, Canada, France, Germany or Japan