SPLENDORS OF THE EAST: Temples, Tombs, Palaces and Fortresses of Asia

A superb gift book in a good series (Europe, Italy etc.), this is far more distinguished than would be indicated by the ""scrapbook"" which Mortimer Wheeler acknowledges it to be. As an archaeologist, his text introductions and those of other authorities provide the layman with non-technical summaries of the historical backgrounds, settings (too often ignored), the significance of the ""temples, tombs, palaces and for tresses"" chosen for the book. The tour is of the Middle East, including Iran and Iraq, through Pakistan and India and Nepal to southeast Asia and Cambodia, ending in Japan and China.