Best Selling Books by Giles Laroche

Describes life in settlements from the Temple of Karnak in ancient Egypt, Herculaneum, and Great Zimbabwe to Fatepur Sikri in India and Jamestown, Virginia, and explains how they became lost cities, how they were found, and what is unusual about them.

Features detailed, bas-relief collage spreads of dwellings in other world regions and historical times to explain how different people live and have lived, from a village house in South Africa to a floating green house in the Netherlands.

As it takes us on a tour of some of the most unique and beautiful structures, this book shows how the purpose of each structure dictated its design, or location. Here are soaring glass skyscrapers (for working people) and a humble stone barn (for working animals); a sealed tomb hewn out of a limestone hillside (for buried reasure) and a majestic marble building, honoring a goddess. As it reveals what lies inside each structure, this book gives insight into the people who designed these buildings -- into their hopes, their lives, and their concepts of beauty. Included -- for budding engineers and architects -- are statistics such as the year built, square footage, materials used, height, and other little known statistics. Structures included are: Tomb of Tutankamumn in Thebes, Egypt The Parthenon in Athens, Greece Temple of Kukulcan in Chichen Itza, Mexico Buddha''s Place in Shanxi Province, China Walled city of Toldeo in Spain Alcazar Castle in Segovia, Spain Independence Hall in Philadelphia Shaker dairy barn in Hancock, MA A Circus big top tent, which traveled to many American cities The Guggenhem Museum in NYC The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia The Petrona Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The Georgia Aquarium in Georgia, Atlanta

Journey around the world to some of the most challenging and remote spots on Earth in this stunningly illustrated book that celebrates human ingenuity, community, and the people who call these places home. Would you be lonely living atop a steep, snowbound mountain or bored in a tiny island village? Could you find your way home through a dense jungle or a blinding desert sandstorm? Our planet has many places where everyday life is made difficult by severe climates, isolation, or natural forces such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Yet in these secluded locations, families learn how to band together and rely on each other, and this spirit of teamwork helps to sustain extreme living. Master of cut-paper collage artwork Giles Laroche transports readers to the world''s most extreme places through his exquisite illustrations and succinct explorations of what it takes to survive and thrive there. List of places included: Tristan da Cunha Sahara Desert Mentawai Islands Verkhoyansk, Siberia Isla Navarino Spiti Valley Goreme Cappadocia Floating Islands of the Uros Atafu Atoll Gobi Desert Agoashima Socotra Atka

Sobre altas cumbres o en islas remotas, junto a desiertos, ríos o mares..., antaño prosperaron antiguas ciudades. Algunas formaban parte de grandes imperios; otras eran pequeñas e independientes. Muchas perduraron durante siglos, incluso milenios, y experimentaron grandes cambios hasta finalmente desaparecer. Sin embargo, en las ruinas de sus edificios y monumentos podemos hallar pistas sobre su pasado. ¿Quiénes vivían en aquellos lugares? ¿Por qué construyeron del modo en que lo hicieron? ¿Por qué estas ciudades se perdieron en el olvido? ¿Y quién las encontró de nuevo? La resolución de estos antiguos misterios empieza con una sencilla pregunta: ¿Cómo era la vida antes?

"De la tumba del faraón Tutankamón en Egipto a un templo maya en México, del Alcázar de Segovia a las Torres Petronas en Malasia, este libro explora el exterior y el interior de catorce construcciones fascinantes de todo el mundo, y aporta información detallada de cada una." --From publisher''s description.

Un tour du monde des plus beaux lieux de culte aux architectures exceptionnelles, initiant l''enfant aux cinq grandes religions que sont les religions juive, musulmane, chrétienne, bouddhiste et hindouiste.