Customer Reviews

Taj Mahal

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a beautiful book! One might just write it off as a nice coffe-table book, but I feel it's much more.

In addition to simply gorgeous photography, including detail and up-close shots of the incredible inlays, there is very nice text that tells the whole story of the buildings.

Translations of the quotes from the Qu'ran that cover the buildings and the tombs are also included and they are very poetically rendered.

This book is exactly what I was looking for. It shows the Taj at it's very best and in full color. I continually enjoy looking at the book, and am inspired by the designs. I highly recommend the book to anyone who loves design and inlay.

Following my recent visit to India I purched the book Taj Mahal as a permanent reminder of this magnificent building. The photographs in the book are of a very high standard and have been taken when there is an absence of visitors - a level the average sightseer can never achieve. The special lighting and techniques used for the internal photography makes you feel as though you are actually there. Added to this there is a very informative narrative on the history of and how the Taj Mahal was built. It is certainly a wonderful memento and am sure it will whet the appetite of future visitors.

This famous monument of love has been a favorite of tourists especially romantics, for many generations now. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to its irresistible charm, beauty and grandeur.

This book, dedicated to the most famous man-made wonder, slowly reveals its glorious detail. Color close-ups of semi-precious stones inlaid in white marble, intricate carvings, decorative patterns, and calligraphy enchant the readers. These artistically taken pictures draw the reader's attention to detail that a regular tourist may have easily missed during visit to the Taj. In fact these pictures are such fine quality and detail as to distract the reader from the well-written text that accompanies them. Every time you pick up this book, you are likely to notice something new, some other fine detail that you missed the last time. We, at Recipedelights.com, think this book is a must-see-and-must-read for designers, artists, armchair tourists, tourists planning to visit Taj and even those who have already visited it.

Because I referred readers to this book in my 3-STAR review of the Prestons' recently published Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius..., I want to offer a more specific comparison of the two. Significantly, the amount of text each devotes to the Taj complex and those directly associated with it is the same. So, too, is most of the information. But rather than detailing differences--such as that only in this book are criticisms of the mausoleum or that only in the Prestons' are technical details about the water system as well as inconsequential elaboration on who could not have been the architect of the Taj--let it suffice to say that regardless of which book you own, the notes you'd add from the other would amount to but a few pages, unless you'd also want to copy the two pages of translated calligraphic inscriptions that appear only in Okada/Joshi/Nou's TAJ MAHAL.

What makes the two books so dramatically different is that 3/4ths of this one is devoted to showing readers the Taj Mahal complex via Nou's stunning photographs, all of which are in color. There are, for example, 56 of the interior of the mausoleum: 7 are two-page spreads; 40 fill an entire page; many are close-ups that reveal astounding detail. Also given extensive photographic coverage is the exterior of the mausoleum as well as the complex's mosque, guest house and main gate. And showing the magnificence of the entire complex from different perspectives are 4 three-page foldouts.

So many photographs are there in this book, in fact, that as revealing as they are, many begin to have a sameness about them. That the explanations of the architecture/ornamentation are not integrated with the photography may also be a negative for some as may be the absence of any photographs of the related funerary architecture that Joshi discusses. Nevertheless, if you are primarily interested in photographs of the splendors of the Taj Mahal complex as it now appears, you will find none better than Nou's. Before deciding on this book, however, I strongly recommend that you investigate Ebba Koch's The Complete Taj Mahal, published in 2006. --B. Evans, 4/14/07

The Taj Mahal is one of the most spectacularly beautiful buildings in the world, saying it's breathtaking does not do it justice. Not only is it gorgeous but it has one of the great romantic stories tied into its creation. This book does a wonderful job of giving the reader a real feel for this singular structure. The images are vivid and stunning and the scholarly text is highly informative. The intracate detail and exquisite craftmanship in this building are unparalleled. This sublime garden tomb is truly a wonder. If you have any interst in the Taj Mahal or just apprecate beautiful books then I cannot imagine you not loving this book, oh and be forwarned that after taking in this great book you will want to hop a plane to India.

Namaste (Hindu Hi)

this is the best book I have seen on the History of Taj Mahal, if you can't go to India to see the Taj Mahal buy this book this is excellent book, it will give you a very detailed photography of Taj Mahal, the photographer has done excellent work. I give it 5 stars & highly reccomend it.

This book is heart-breakingly beautiful. We visited the Taj Mahal in person and got all the usual photos. But we didn't linger long enough to get many close-up photos of the structure, and of course it's impossible to get some images available in this book, such as close-ups of the areas where tourists cannot go. I bought this book before traveling to Agra. And so while at the Taj, I did not feel like I needed to view the Taj through a tiny camera lens and try to capture every awesome angle of it in a photo. Sometimes I do that on vacations, and then later, don't have strong mental images of my own because the whole time there was a camera in front of my face. But while visiting the Taj Mahal, I knew this book was at home, and it has more beautiful photos than what I can capture. This book gave me the freedom to really focus on the Taj and see it with my own eyes. Don't worry so much about the camera. For that, the price is worth it.