- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Merrell Publishers; 2nd edition (1 Sep 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 185894497X
- ISBN-13: 978-1858944975
- Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 25.3 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 685,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
American Ruins is the first photography book to document historic ruins throughout the United States. It presents a stunning visual record of places that stand in defiance of time, ranging from ancient Native American dwellings in the Southwest to the remains of Gilded Age mansions on the East Coast and a king s summer home in Hawaii. Hauntingly beautiful images are accompanied by brief essays detailing the significance of each site. This landmark publication, available in paperback for the first time, raises awareness of locations that remain unknown even to most Americans, and offers a new way of seeing the landscape, the past and the collective identity of America.
About the Author
ARTHUR DROOKER is a photographer whose work has been exhibited and published since 1980. He is also an Emmy Award-winning documentary writer and director. DOUGLAS BRINKLEY is a noted historian and the author of several books, including the award-winning American Heritage History of the United States. CHRISTOPHER WOODWARD is Director of the Museum of Garden History, London, and the author of In Ruins (2001).
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
As a lover of this type of book I had eagerly awaited delivery of my copy. The American angle of subject matter was novel to me and I found the subjects and brief descriptions to be of great interest. Sadly though, the accompanying photographs let it down badly. A book like this lives and dies on the images. While monochrome can indeed be dramatic, atmospheric and powerful, I found the version of it here to be bland, bleached out and serving only to further distance me from the constructions in question. Colour and greater clarity and focus would have enhanced the impact of the current situation of these places. Instead, the photographs simply did not do them justice. I would gladly have given this 5 stars, if only the photo quality had lived up to the subject. A great concept, spoiled by the presentation.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
28 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
How can a book on ruins give you hope? Read on...
20 Dec 1999
Format:Hardcover
Camilo Vergara's latest effort will appeal to those interested in both architectural and landscape photography, as well as urban activists, artists, writers, and even musicians. Vergara has the ability to draw on a variety of inspirations in his thoughtful analyses of forgotten urban America. Nominally about decaying buildings in Detroit, Newark, Chicago, and elsewhere; American Ruins goes deeper--exploring connections between buildings, art, sociology, psychology, and the natural environment.
The book is divided into sections based on ruins typology. This is a good approach, as it allows Vergara to show connections between cities and their related phenomena which might not otherwise have been apparent. His accounts of conversations with wary local residents and (usually) thoughtless politicians and developers invest the book with a jarring realism that juxtaposes effectively with the often dreamy and strangely beautiful photographs.
Another excellent attribute of this substantial book is its readability. In comparison with The New American Ghetto (Vergara's previous book), here Vergara separates his narrative into shorter separate, site-specific analyses, which makes it easy to ingest a few pages at a time and return for more later. It also makes it easy to move through the book in a non-linear fashion, based on your own visual interests.
This evocative work will be required reading for architects, preservationists, and artists. However, the sublime beauty of Vergara's photography should win him fans from many other persuasions. Perhaps in the end Vergara will succeed in his effort to, at least, bring appreciation for not just our sanitized and restored "landmarks," but for our most humble and neglected buildings--those which tell the story of this tumultous century in ways only this book reveals.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Not what I expected
18 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
I was intrigued when I first saw this book on Amazon, and was pleased to later receive it as a gift. But I was immediately disappointed when I discovered that the images are all infrared photos. The result is certainly not informative, nor would I consider it art. Rather, they are overstylized, self-consciously "arty," and frankly hacky-tacky. Why, when one has subjects as dramatic as these, not present them as is? Why deny the reader/viewer the chance to see these buildings and places as they really look? I recommend instead any of Camilo Jose Vergara's books. His images of American ruins are probably more journalism than art, but they at least let the fascinating ruins speak for themselves.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful!
28 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover
After viewing the glowing segment on The CBS Morning Show, I had to see this book. AMERICAN RUINS truly deserves the accolades, awards and attention it's receiving. Arthur Drooker's exquisite photographs transport you and his descriptive prose is as elegant and moving as his haunting images. So, thank you, Mr. Drooker for this treasure about our national treasures... and for making my holiday shopping so easy!
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