About the Book

A World Heritage Site since 1992, this ruined city’s beautiful buildings, constructed by generations of slaves and artisans so many centuries ago, lie in a confused tangle among the ancient trees. Everywhere you look you can see the serene faces of ancient kings and venerated saints peering out at you through the dense foliage, their gaze seeming to take in this vast and ruined world.

     Some structures inspire by their sheer size, yet Angkor’s intricacy of construction, genius of workmanship, and serenity of setting are what sets it apart. Beautiful and all as these buildings are, it is in the ethereal glow of a sunset or under the white brilliance of the tropical moon that they are touched by magic—for it is then that the stately towers appear to float over the jungle, and it is then that Angkor becomes, quite simply, one of the most breathtaking places in the world.

About the Author

Gregory Byrne Bracken is from Ireland and is a lecturer in Asian urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture in the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. He speaks six languages, including Chinese (Putonghua), and has just completed a Ph.D. on post-colonial Asian urbanismHe is also the author and illustrator of the Walking Tour series of guidebooks, namely Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur (which was co-written with his sister Audrey Southgate) and Singapore. He got an M.Sc.Arch. from TU Delft in 2004 (graduating cum laude) and a Dip.Arch. from Bolton Street College of Technology, Dublin, with a B.Sc.Arch. from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1992 (with Distinction in Thesis). He is married and lives in Amsterdam.