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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book about the life, not the art of the Khmer Empire, October 17, 2001
This review is from: Angkor Life (Paperback)
I don't think that there is a logical ordering of the material written by the one eye-witness of the Khmer Empire, but Murray's book which draws heavily on that hodgepodge builds to a consideration of the base of Khmer society and art: harvests of rice and how the surplus was depleted over time. Although there are many books of beautiful pictures of the ruins, and the intriguing mathematical/astronomical analysis of the great temple of Angkor Wat, Murray's book is the best available account of what the society that built the temples was like. If the previous reviewer knows of some important new breaktrhoughs in understanding SOCIAL LIFE he or she should specify what it is. A book published in 1996 was presumably written in 1995, but I am not aware of any new archaeological interpretations of the Khmer Empire.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best explanation of ancient Cambodian society, February 6, 2000
This review is from: Angkor Life (Paperback)
There are many superb books on Khmer art. This book looks at what life was like in the society that created the art and built ther stupendous temples. It necessarily relies heavily on the one surviving (Yüan-dynasty Chinese) account by a visitor to the Khmer Empire after its peak, but also draws on French archaeology and the author's considerable comparative knowledge of societies and religions. The book is succinct, readable, reasonably priced; although not an art book, it has interesting line drawings and photographs. It also has a comprehensive bibliography.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poor Treatment of Fascinating Data, March 6, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Angkor Life (Paperback)
The Chinese description of Angkor life at the end of the thirteenth century provides fascinating and important information on this culture. Unfortunately, the author of this book presents the information in an unorganized format with no sense of what is important what is not. Piling up a bunch of details without a structure or theme does little to convey the nature of Angkor society. The book is poorly written; contradictions abound; and the abundant scholarship on Angkor is unacknowledged. Very disappointing. If you want some good books on Angkor, try these: Dumarçay, Jacques and Pascal Royère
2001 Cambodian Architecture, Eighth to Thirteenth Centuries. Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section Three, South-East Asia, vol. 12. Brill, Leiden.
Higham, Charles
2002 The Civilization of Angkor. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jacques, Claude
1999 Angkor. Könemann, New York.
Mannikka, Eleanor
1996 Angkor Wat: Time, Space, and Kingship. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
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