For more than 40 years, Georg Gerster has been travelling the world photographing archaeological sites from the air. In The Past from Above, archaeologist Charlotte Trumpler introduces 250 of his photographs, taken in more than 50 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Each is accompanied by a detailed explanatory description. Gerster's subjects range from the temple complex at Karnak to the Great Wall of China, from the Acropolis in Athens to the temples of Abu Simbel, from Aztec cult places in Mexico to monumental designs in the Californian desert. These colour photographs are not only precise, technical achievements - often produced under hair-raising circumstances - but also fascinating, unique views of our world. The result is a spectacular photographic book and a visual history of mankind that stretches back to the very beginnings of civilization.