The temples of Cambodia are among the most complex and imposing architectural creations in the world. This book invites the reader to experience those extraordinary sites through remarkable photographs and a text by a leading Khmer cultural historian. From modest brick structures in the seventh and eighth centuries, the temples became increasingly ambitious, setting the stage for the apogee of the Khmer empire and with it, the supreme architectural creation of Cambodia, Angkor Wat. Barry Brukoff's splendid photographs not only record temples that have been destroyed but also offer a uniquely intimate insight into the Cambodian idiom, and with Helen Ibbitson Jessup's expert text, allow readers to penetrate to the heart of the temples' mystery.

About the Author

Helen Ibbitson Jessup is founder and President of the Board of Directors of Friends of Khmer Culture, an organization established to support Khmer arts and cultural organizations. A scholar and curator specializing in the art and architecture of Southeast Asia, she is the author of Art and Architecture of Cambodia, (Thames & Hudson), Passage to Angkor, with photographs by Kenro Izu (Channel Photographics), and Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory (Thames & Hudson). She was curator of the Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and co-curator of a recent exhibition of Khmer art in Zurich. She lives in Connecticut. Barry Brukoff is an award-winning photographer whose books include The Enigma of Stonehenge, text by John Fowles (Summit); Morocco, text by Paul Bowles (Abrams); Greece: Land of Light, text by Nicholas Gage (Bulfinch); and Machu Picchu, text by Pablo Neruda in a new translation (Bulfinch). He has been photographing the temples of Cambodia since 1963. He lives in California.