The Spirit of Asia: Journeys to the Sacred Places of the East

Of course the most important feature of this book is the pictures, and they are excellent.

The book covers a wide range of religious sites and varieties: Burmese Nats, Thai Spirits, Hinduism, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. It features the standard important monuments, such as Angkor Wat and Borobodur, as well as lesser known sites like Sagaing, Burma or Si Satchanalai, Thailand. Altogether 38 sites are covered. Three unfortunate omissions are Mount Tai Shan and the Temple of Heaven in China, and Shikoku island in Japan. Perhaps something from Bhutan would have been nice as well. I find its coverage of ancestor woship and Shinto lacking.

If the book has an obvious, glaring weakness, it is the absence of Islamic sites. Islam has been influential in the East, so even if not considered an Eastern religion it has interesting Eastern manifestations--for instance the Taj Mahal. Its absence is at least as unfortunate as the inadequate coverage of ancestor worship.

I am obviously rather picky, but for the price and the photograph quality, this is a first-rate bargain, and might well spark someone's interest in travel or further reading--the ultimate value of any coffee-table book.