Terra Cotta Warriors

The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China
$17.99
The book is a great balance between text and pictures. I bought it for my grandchildren prior to taking them to Atlanta's( GA) High Museum to view the warriors which are on exhibit there until mid-April. They enjoyed the pictures and couldn't turn pages fast enough. They grasped the information about the life of the emporer, the building of his tomb, the creation of the warriors, and their discovery some 2000 years later.
I highly recommend the book for a fairly complete overview.

The Eternal Army: The Terracotta Soldiers of the First Emperor (Timeless Treasures)
$60.00
I ordered this book so I could read about the terracotta warriors prior to visiting the exhibit currently at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA. The other reviews are really what sold me on the book - especially the review by B. Evans.

I ordered the book July 31 (Sunday) and paid for shipping so I could receive it prior to my museum visit August 7. I expected it to arrive the 6th but it arrived on the 4th! I was very pleased with the fast service. I was astounded when I saw the book. It surpassed the reviews by far. It's gorgeous! There's so much background information and the writing style is excellent and the photos are superb.

If you have an opportunity to see an exhibit, please go! But first - buy this book! I'm so glad I'd read the background information (I skimmed a lot - there's a lot of information!) and looked at the very detailed photos prior to my visit. It made it so much more enjoyable (there's an audio guide and great written plaques at the museum but I liked knowing all that information beforehand). I also appreciate the photos even more now because the museum has low lighting and that makes a difference when you're over 50! Seeing the warriors in person is a great experience - but having this book is even better because the details are sharper and you get a vast amount of information. The exhibit had the 2 chariots with horses and so many of the warriors and animals that are featured in the book that you have your own museum tour right there in the book.

I almost bought a book that featured a large fold-out of the warriors lined up in the pit. I saw that book in the museum and looked at the fold-out (and another fold-out was placed on the wall). The photography was inferior to the photography in this book. I looked at all the books the museum had and was thrilled with this book. It's really the best. So thank you to the first 3 reviewers! You sold me and I'm grateful! One thing no one mentioned was the quality of the paper in this book. That struck me immediately. It has very high quality, glossy paper which makes it easy to read and makes the photographs stand out. With tax and shipping, it came to $41.79 and is worth so much more than that.

Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor
$14.95
I purchased this book because of price and I wanted to know more about the Terra Cotta Warriors. The book is lovely, great production values, but primarily a picture book and tells very little about the dig, its history and about the statues themself.

The Terra Cotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation
$16.95
John Man's book is a fun read. I purchased the book for my library to better understand The Terra Cotta Army and China's First Emperor (one of many books on China now in my library). Nonetheless this book was an essential read prior to my recent visit to the High Museum in Atlanta, GA to soak-up The Terra Cotta Army display. The book enhanced my initial impressions and understanding. It was worth every penny for the factual knowledge it imparted.

The book provided geographic insight to the site of the First Emporor's tomb in Xian and the surrounding facilities. One of the more interesting aspects of the book was the account of the modern reproduction of the army in such a way as to give the book reader an cleaver idea of how the ancient Chinese may have produced such a wonder thousnads of years ago! The feat of the Terra Cotta Army production in ancient times combined with the vast unknown treasurers still to be explored are certainly mind-boggling! This book makes one think.

Bottomline: Good book, fun read, provided insight.