It is arguably the greatest feat of civil engineering in history and indisputably earth's largest single cultural relic: begun around 208 BC and completed nearly 1,800 years later, the Great Wall of China spans more than 4,000 miles. Michael Yamashita, an award-winning National Geographic photographer, spent a year shooting the Wall, its environs and the people who live in its shadow. 160 of his magnificent photographs grace this volume, which also features text by William Lindesay, who conducts tours of the Wall, spearheads the movement to preserve it and has actually run its entire length. Broken into three sections, The Great Wall provides an overview that debunks myths and dishes up rare facts and figures, a comprehensive history that proceeds dynasty by dynasty through its construction and an account of Lindesay's personal experiences of the Wall.