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The English poet, philosopher and literary critic William Empson considered 'The Face of the Buddha' to be one of his finest works. Drafted as he travelled throughout eastern and southern Asia during the 1930's, it is a highly personal account of the cultures and artworks he encountered in Japan, Korea, China, Burma, India and Ceylon, and contains perspectives and theories that are not found in any of his other works. Empson was heartbroken when he lost the onlycopy of the manuscript in the wake of World War Two, but its recent rediscovery means the book can now be offered exactly as he intended, complete with his original photographs. A comprehensiveintroduction by the global culture historian Rupert Arrowsmith ensures that the text is just as accessible to the general reader as it is to academics and students.