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Rating: 
Summary: Substantial Introduction to Balinese Temples
Review: This small and inexpensive book packs with it a tremendous amount of information about Balinese Temples. The author starts by introducing the concept of Hinduism and Buddhism in Bali, as well as religious life in this island east of Java. He then proceeds to discuss general elements of the temples, such as: structures, functions, styles, and types. Along the way, he packs in many examples of those elements (in text and in images), and explains well each new terms that the readers encounter.The illustrations are well thought of and done. The lay-out of the book assists the readers in navigating through the sea of information. Captions, side-bars and placement of graphics work very well. One thing that is missing from this book is the floor plan(s) of the temples. While this book does not profess to be an in-depth study on architecture, it will be useful to include simple floor-plan(s). Almost toward the end, the author puts in a chapter on the kingdom of Majapahit of East Java, the influence of which is apparent in Balinese art and architecture. Somehow I wonder if this chapter would be better off placed toward the beginning of the book, since it would better explain the spread of the religion, as well as the style of architecture from Java, Bali's neighboring island. This book is part of a series in Periplus' "Discover Indonesia." Check out the two other titles already available at Amazon.com: Balinese Architecture (ISBN 962-593-194-5,) by Davison and Granquist (the same team that writes the Balinese Temples), and The Mysteries of Borobudur (ISBN 962-593-198-8) by Miksic, Marcello and Trachini.
Rating:
Summary: Substantial Introduction to Balinese Temples
Review: This small and inexpensive book packs with it a tremendous amount of information about Balinese Temples. The author starts by introducing the concept of Hinduism and Buddhism in Bali, as well as religious life in this island east of Java. He then proceeds to discuss general elements of the temples, such as: structures, functions, styles, and types. Along the way, he packs in many examples of those elements (in text and in images), and explains well each new terms that the readers encounter. The illustrations are well thought of and done. The lay-out of the book assists the readers in navigating through the sea of information. Captions, side-bars and placement of graphics work very well. One thing that is missing from this book is the floor plan(s) of the temples. While this book does not profess to be an in-depth study on architecture, it will be useful to include simple floor-plan(s). Almost toward the end, the author puts in a chapter on the kingdom of Majapahit of East Java, the influence of which is apparent in Balinese art and architecture. Somehow I wonder if this chapter would be better off placed toward the beginning of the book, since it would better explain the spread of the religion, as well as the style of architecture from Java, Bali's neighboring island. This book is part of a series in Periplus' "Discover Indonesia." Check out the two other titles already available at Amazon.com: Balinese Architecture (ISBN 962-593-194-5,) by Davison and Granquist (the same team that writes the Balinese Temples), and The Mysteries of Borobudur (ISBN 962-593-198-8) by Miksic, Marcello and Trachini.
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