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robinwalter's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
As other reviewers have said, the reflective commentary elevates this interesting collection of images from abandoned places around the globe
jujuwiz's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
I have complicated feelings around abandoned places -- I have always loved the look of them and exploring, but as I grew up I became wary of being a disaster tourist, recognizing how gross that feels and how negligent, if not fully dismissive, of people's trauma.
So yeah, I picked this book up with some wariness, but I was happily surprised. This scratched the same itch that I've had since I was a kid, but it felt like it came from a writer who has considered those questions well. The tone of the writing and the layout of the book all made it feel grounded in history and respect. Rather than a coffee table book of glossy dystopian HDR images, the focus is a fantastic tidbit of history along with a few reference images. One entry mentioned how popular a site was with Instagram influencers, but only used a flat overhead drone shot. It's all still complicated, I know, and maybe this is just adding a veneer to a troublesome tourism trend, but it made me happy.
So yeah, I picked this book up with some wariness, but I was happily surprised. This scratched the same itch that I've had since I was a kid, but it felt like it came from a writer who has considered those questions well. The tone of the writing and the layout of the book all made it feel grounded in history and respect. Rather than a coffee table book of glossy dystopian HDR images, the focus is a fantastic tidbit of history along with a few reference images. One entry mentioned how popular a site was with Instagram influencers, but only used a flat overhead drone shot. It's all still complicated, I know, and maybe this is just adding a veneer to a troublesome tourism trend, but it made me happy.
shelleyrae's review
4.0
“To step into an abandoned place is to cross a kind of threshold into the past- to time travel from the present day to the instant that people departed.”
In Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders, Oliver Smith highlights fifty abandoned places and structures found across the globe, from the catacombs of Paris, to wartime bunkers in Albania, to a Vietnamese theme park, and even entire towns in California, Turkey, and Australia.
While some of these abandoned places are found in remote areas, like the Aniva Lighthouse at the most southern point of Russia, others are more accessible, the old City Hall Station in New York, for example, can be glimpsed during the transit through Brooklyn Bridge Station. The reasons for the abandonment of these sites vary, from the destructive effects of a natural disaster, like the volcanic eruption that devastated Southern Montserrat, to financial collapse that left developments, including the Turkish castles of Burj Al Babas, unfit for habitation. Each place has its own unique story.
An award winning travel writer, Smith’s text is articulate and evocative. For each location he presents a description of the location and/or structure, its purpose and history, its present condition, and what its fate may be. I found the information about these sites, most of which were unfamiliar, generally fascinating and often thought-provoking.
The layout is consistent with each place featured over four pages. The introduction and text with a small image or two is on the left, a full page map showing the location on the right, followed by more text on the left and a large matte image or two on the right. In some instances I would perhaps have liked more images of the sites/structures, but they are easily found online.
I enjoyed browsing through The Atlas of Abandoned Places, this is a well presented book that both informs, and sparks the imagination.
“For places that seem lifeless, their lesson is that - in some form or other-life goes on.”
In Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders, Oliver Smith highlights fifty abandoned places and structures found across the globe, from the catacombs of Paris, to wartime bunkers in Albania, to a Vietnamese theme park, and even entire towns in California, Turkey, and Australia.
While some of these abandoned places are found in remote areas, like the Aniva Lighthouse at the most southern point of Russia, others are more accessible, the old City Hall Station in New York, for example, can be glimpsed during the transit through Brooklyn Bridge Station. The reasons for the abandonment of these sites vary, from the destructive effects of a natural disaster, like the volcanic eruption that devastated Southern Montserrat, to financial collapse that left developments, including the Turkish castles of Burj Al Babas, unfit for habitation. Each place has its own unique story.
An award winning travel writer, Smith’s text is articulate and evocative. For each location he presents a description of the location and/or structure, its purpose and history, its present condition, and what its fate may be. I found the information about these sites, most of which were unfamiliar, generally fascinating and often thought-provoking.
The layout is consistent with each place featured over four pages. The introduction and text with a small image or two is on the left, a full page map showing the location on the right, followed by more text on the left and a large matte image or two on the right. In some instances I would perhaps have liked more images of the sites/structures, but they are easily found online.
I enjoyed browsing through The Atlas of Abandoned Places, this is a well presented book that both informs, and sparks the imagination.
“For places that seem lifeless, their lesson is that - in some form or other-life goes on.”
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