Ingenious overlay illustrations really set this book apart from the rest. It shows the ruins at Petra, Jerash and Amman first as they look today and next, via an overlaid acetate illustration, as they looked in their heydays. We love this method of relating the ruins to their original, more complete selves. It's much more intuitive than looking from a photo of a ruin to an artist's rendition of an ancient building and back again. The text is good, too. Published by the Getty.  (JRD15, $24.95)

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Petra, Lost City of the Ancient World
Christian Auge
Jean-Marie Dentzer
ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 • PAPER  • 144 PAGES • BEST SELLER
A pocket guide to the art, history and culture of Petra, the ancient city that was occupied by the Nabataeans, conquered by the Romans, and overrun by the Crusaders, only to be lost to the West until 1812. Includes hundreds of archival and color illustrations, maps, site plans and a section of original documents. (JRD13, $12.95)