The thirst for knowledge

If you don't know me by now, then my thirst for new books on Cambodia is insatiable. So I was overjoyed to learn of two brand new books and one revised edition, soon to be published by River Books in Bangkok. Top quality books are the staple diet of this publishing house and the two new arrivals look set to continue that trend. In Beyond Angkor, Helen Ibbitson Jessup and Ang Choulean get their heads together to explain the journey, geographically and chronologically, of the Khmer civilization, from Phnom Da through Sambor Prei Kuk and onto Roluos before the expansion into Laos and present-day Thailand and the grandeur of Angkor Wat, Bayon, Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and many more temples in the Angkor region and beyond. With photos by John Gollings (over 250 colour photos), Jessup and Choulean are the perfect pair to bring this 220-page journey to life. I await their collaboration with bated breath.
Hot on their heels will be Vittorio Roveda and Yem Sothorn's Buddhist Painting in Cambodia, a 200-page, 300-photographs tome that will document and discuss the rich Buddhist cultural heritage of Cambodia. This detailed study will explain and illustrate, analyze and review episodes of Buddha's life as well as the mural paintings to be found at 70 pagodas visited by the authors during four years of research. This book is a must-have record before some of these paintings are lost forever. Vittorio Roveda is a master of Khmer iconography and his Khmer Mythology - Secrets of Angkor will be revised with new stories and new sites later this year. 224-pages and with over 260 illustrations, Roveda's work details the legends and motifs to be found at 21 major temples in Angkor, explaining in intricate detail the stories and features behind the reliefs of Hindu gods and Buddhist themes. All three books will be in my shopping cart for sure.