Borobudur

When archeologists working under Stamford Raffles, the British colonialist and founder of Singapore, stumbled on the overgrown monument of Borobudur in the Javanese jungle in the late 19th century, they uncovered an ancient marvel that has astounded archeologists ever since. A cosmos in stone, a visual scripture of Buddhism with 1,460 exquisite carved reliefs, a pilgrimage site and an enormous mandala, Borobudur was the supreme achievement of a Buddhist kingdom that flourished briefly and then died on Java in the 9th and 10th centuries. This exquisite coffee table volume is perhaps the most lavish of the several oversize photographic books on the greatest Buddhist monument in the world. Designed by Molly Shields, the book's almost-square format approximates that of Borobudur itself.