Reviews of The Golden Lands

Here are links to reviews and mentions of The Golden Lands by Vikram Lall in the press and online.

More to come – check back soon!

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Book Reviews

The Asian Review of Books

“Lall’s visually delightful showcase of Buddhist architecture succeeds in portraying the physical result of the faith’s tolerant, cosmopolitan nature, and the dynamism with which so many cultures have made it their own.”

http://www.asianreviewofbooks.com/new/?ID=2016#!
The reviewer, “Story of Angkor” author Jame DiBiasio also blogged about the book here asiahacks.com

The Star, Malaysia

“it doesn’t matter if you are a professional architect or a practising Buddhist, Architecture Of The Buddhist World: The Golden Lands is a visual treat for everyone – it’s just a bonus that you’ll also learn some history.”

http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Books/News/2014/11/02/Buddhist-architecture-in-focus/


Biblio [http://biblio-india.org/]

“With abundant analytic drawings – following the norms of architectural practice- [Lall] presents new insights to understand Buddhist architecture, thus making a compelling case for an architect to write the history of architecture. The information has also been collated and presented in an attractive and accessible format, so the publication can  be considered both a coffee-table book and a shcholarly treatise.”

Review by Professor A G Krishna Menon:

Biblio golden lands review part 1
Biblio golden lands review part 2
Biblio golden lands review part 3



Longitude Books

“[The] book is most enlightening… when Lall explains how builders used architecture to express religious beliefs and wield political power. Hsinbyume Pagoda in Myanmar, for example, is encircled by undulating arches that symbolize the seven seas surrounding the cosmic center of the universe. Likewise, the architects of Manuha temple placed giant statues of Buddha in claustrophobic spaces to emphasize worldly oppression. Lall does a masterful job explaining how light, shape, width, height – even the cardinal directions – express ideology.”

http://www.longitudebooks.com/blog/index.php/2014/10/book-of-the-week/the-golden-lands/
(also in recommended Longitude Fall Travel Books list )

Journal for the Art Libraries Association of North America

One of the most valuable assets to this well-planned tome is the images. Architectural plans, drawings, illustrated 3-D architectural models, cross-sections, maps, and lush photography complement the scholarly text. Historians will appreciate the well-researched historical narrative of patronage, trade, and development. Practical architectural information – alignment, scale, materials, and construction systems – coexists with discussions on the decorative motifs, sculptural art, and fantastic ornamentation of highlighted structures.

Download the text of the review by Kim Collins, Art History Librarian at the Robert W Woodruff Library here

Library Journal, New York NY February 2015

This volume…will be a welcome and useful resource on Buddhist architecture for audiences from students and scholars to the casual reader.

Golden Lands review in the Library Journal - many thanks to reviewer Amy Trendler, Ball State University LIbraries
Golden Lands review in the Library Journal – many thanks to reviewer Amy Trendler, Ball State University LIbraries

Author Interviews

Southeast Asia Globe

“Isn’t it incredible that a philosophy founded on the principles of impermanence ends up producing so many permanent buildings? Isn’t it incredible that the universal ideas of the philosophy have been embodied and manifested in so many different ways in different countries without ever being diluted? And isn’t it incredible that this phenomenon of architecture and its relationship to Buddhism has never been comprehensively studied?”

http://sea-globe.com/vikram-lall-buddhist-architecture-southeast-asia-globe/


Editorial and excerpts

RIBA Journal

http://www.ribaj.com/culture/the-golden-lands

Women’s Wear Daily

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/print/book-excerpt-architecture-of-the-buddhist-world-the-golden-lands-7967564
(and in the WWD Fall Books roundup)


Mentions

RIBA Bookshop
http://66pp.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/architecture-in-the-buddhist-world/

Buddhist Art News
https://buddhistartnews.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/book-the-golden-lands-by-vikram-lall/

The Buddhist Channel
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=10,11926,0,0,1,0#.VD5gEBYRFWw


REVIEWS COMING SOON

  • Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs
  • Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
  • The Ancient History Encylopedia
  • Orientations Magazine
  • The Southeast Asian Review (SOAS)
  • Buddhist Art News
  • Sotheby’s Magazine
  • Shambhala Sun
  • Buddadharma Magazine
  • Anandabazar Patrika
  • Bengali Daily (Kolkata)