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.