Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most unusual books of the past few years., 31 Jan 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Boring Postcards (Hardcover)
I first encountered this books in a hotel bar in Evesham, England, that kept a large collection of comic books and magazines for the use of the guests. I had to ask the proprietor which he thought the most amusing, and he suggested this book. At first while browsing through I thought it extremely funny. It seemed that I knew many of the places included and how strange to for postcards to be produced of shoppping centres and motorway service stations in the 1950s and 60s. But after continued browsing, the book transformed into a celebration of post war British architchture and reminded me of the optimism of that period. The Public we proud of the regeneration programmes after the war and the bright future presented before them. Today, sadly these places don't look so well manicured. But more surpisingly for me was to find a toward the end of the book a postcard including a view the house where I grew up. My parents still live there...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boring postcards, brilliant book!, 19 July 2004
When I first picked this book up in a high street bookshop, I was gripped by it immediately! Even having lived through the 1970s, the decade often called the one taste forgot, I couldn't believe the range of subjects photographed. In the '60s when motorways were new and thus considered exciting, perhaps one could understand the desire to picture the M1, and various parts of service stations. But who on earth wanted to buy photographs showing traffic on the A40, or indeed to celebrate Carlton Court Shopping Centre, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol (which I've known for 30 years, and it doesn't look any better now than it did then!). Would people be so proud now of Preston Bus Station as they were then? And would anyone really be keen to buy pictures of Butlins' Reception and Dining Halls, or Travelodge bedrooms. In creating this book, Martin Parr has reminded readers of a now bygone era, when the now hideous was considered magnificent. I could hardly contain myself. If you're 30+ or into architecture, this book is a must-have. As it is if you're a keen photographer, or just want an easy read to make you laugh.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far from Boring, 15 Sep 2005
The title of this book is very misleading, because the postcards are far from boring. They provide a fascinating insight into the architecture, cars and clothing of the 1950s and 1960s, with motorways, shopping centres, suburbia, factories, holiday camps, chalets, caravans and much else. I suspect that quite of a bit of what was then regarded as the best of modern architecture has since been demolished, so there are indispensable historical records here too. Nor are the postcards boring on the technical side: the picture of Budleigh Salterton, with its foreground and background, diagonal lines and a wealth of detail, is a brilliantly composed photograph. The picture of the nuclear reactor at Dounreay is like a piece of modern abstract art, with its blocks, cylinders and sphere. Many of the others are also excellent photographs, which is not surprising, as they must have been taken by professionals. This book is stuffed with art and history, and there is not one boring postcard in the whole collection.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|