Angkor Wat: Angkor, capital of the flourishing Khmer empire in what is now Cambodia, was, in the eleventh century, one of the world's most densely populated cities. An incredible mass of sophisticated and complex temples and buildings grew up around Angkor Thom, culminating in the glory of Angkor Wat. With the fall of the Khmers, the jungle took back its own, and the peerless city remained a hidden legend until 1861. Since then a century of discovery and painstaking reconstruction has passed. The author here traces the evolution of this brilliant civilization from its Indian antecedents, through the gradual assimilation of a variety of religions; all these influences can be seen in the timeless beauty of the sculptured stone at Angkor Wat, a temple created by King Suryavarman II (1114-63). He also analyzes the engineering and building techniques, far in advance of their time, used by the Khmers to construct these mammoth buildings. Under the expert guidance of professor Michio Fujioka, the reader can form a clear picture of the history and different styles jumbled together in glorious profusion at Angkor Wat and its surrounding ruins.