Angkor: La forêt de pierre

by Bruno Dagens

Capitale du Royaume du Cambodge du IXᵉ au XVᵉ siècle, Angkor suscite très tôt des descriptions où l'étonnement le dispute à l'admiration. En 1296, un ambassadeur chinois est impressionné par cette ville "barbare". Aux XVIᵉ et XVIIᵉ siècles, des missionnaires européens y voient l'égale de Rome ou de Babel, tandis qu'un Japonais visitant la Ville croit se trouver en Inde. Peu après 1860, Henri Mouhot - le plus célèbre de ses "découvreurs" et l'un des plus romantiques - la place définitivement sur la carte des merveilles du monde ; c'est alors que débute le dégagement systématique et l'exploration scientifique du site qui, jamais oublié, redevient le palladium d'une nation - refuge en période de crise, étendard sous tous les régimes. Son inscription sur la liste du Patrimoine mondial par l'Unesco en 1992 officialise la valeur que lui avaient donnée depuis longtemps les voyageurs. Historien et archéologue, Bruno Dagens retrace les grandes étapes d'une découverte émerveillée.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Art, History

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book about a fascinating place. The only knock I have against it is that the book has such a small trim size, which means that the dozens of illustrations and photos are too small. Otherwise, this is very nicely done.

[James McLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat little compendium, aptly covering the history of Angkor, it’s “rediscovery”, history, and all the strange and intrepid characters along the way. Slightly awkward to read due to the ‘exciting’ formatting of the narrative around images and callouts. Nonetheless, a concise, fascinating and informative book. What’s great is that it takes a mass of sources and compresses them into a well-oriented mini-guide, but also gives additional and expanded material in the appendix, allowing one to read the full journal entry, log, article or excerpt referenced. I hope to read more books in this series.

[bihter sabanoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read for those who want to delve deeper into the charms of Angkor. Delightful excerpts (at the end of the book) from accounts of 19th&20th century travelers including Pierre Loti. Learned a lot about selfless curators or custodians who got stabbed on the site. Also was delighted to learn that George Groslier called Malraux “petit voleur”.

[Patrick Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lead trips in Angkor and surprised for the low marks about this book, it being one of the most visually and richly designed books on Angkor - and in a portable format convenient for bringing along. A favorite along with Booth and Rooney's guides.

[Harry Fozzard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in Siem Reap while tooling around Angkor and environs.

A great little survey of the modern history — colonial and a brief view of post-colonial —of the anthropology, key figures, and popular culture treatment of Angkor and the surrounding temples. Well illustrated to the point where you really wish the book was larger to show off the plates better. Excellent selection of source documents at the end of the book.

Tells the story of the Angkor after its "rediscovery" chronicled in Henri Mouhot's posthumous journal through the personalities of the park curators, artists, photographers and various characters associated with the Ecole Français d'Extrême-Orient with the notes from the Chinese envoy, Chou Ta-kuan thrown in for good measure. Good stuff.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated little volume detailing the basic history of the temple complex at Angkor in Cambodia and it's rediscovery by European adventurers in the 19th century. It includes some terrific primary sources, like one of the only known written accounts of life at the height of the Khmer Empire in the 11th century written by a visiting Chinese ambassador. Of the many great books in the Abrams Discoveries series, this one is my favorite.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent summary of the modern history of Angkor which includes original documents