This book is intriguing, beautiful, and heart breaking all at once. I've always been fascinated by abandoned buildings (especially houses), so I really liked this book. There are a few photographs from buildings in the Pittsburgh area, which I appreciated/was especially saddened by.

I have seen a lot of urban exploration / urban archeology images and books over the years. But this is, hands down, one of the best. Using full page spreads of meticulously shot and processed images, these other-worldly images are both art and emotion. A glimpse of past that is very telling about the current world in which we live.

As a photographer, I have to admit I was wowed by every single shot. There is technique - most photographers can pick up a camera and shoot an image. But the angles, compositions, and how he shot the buildings took technique into art. I really have to commend the artistic eye - using the right lens, right lighting, and right choices from start to finish to create stirring, imaginative, and ultimately very emotive imagery.

The processing of the images is a very tasteful HD - no over-the-top saturated colors or unnatural highlights/shadows. Instead, the HD is used to bring out all the details in very high contrast and difficult lighting situations. As such, details are left a bit in the shadows or brights but not completely lost as they would have been if shot using available lighting.

Pictures are captioned so viewers know exactly what they are seeing. As well, there are personal observations about several of the locations that are very informative and add to the story of the abandoned buildings.

At just over 200 pages, this book is a feast for the eyes but also for the heart. Broken down into type of building (e.g., theater, hospital, school, etc.) it also allows for an examination of different types of forgotten architecture across the American landscape.

In all, highest recommendations. This is an exquisite book worthy of repeat viewing and very well presented.

Reviewed from an ARC.

A compelling look at the ruins that are scattered around a country, offering a glimpse of broken dreams, history, in a society that loves the largeness of design, but is willing to abandon it with a totality that is surprising. What struck me the most are the images that showed the sign of abruptness, such as the leaving behind of work boots in the ruins of a factory, or the school books still placed in perfect order on the shelves of an abandoned school. Inviting us to imagine the stories of these places, Holubow captures the rawness of these buildings in his striking images with an impressive clarity. If you are a fan of photography, check out this volume.

I received Abandoned: America's Vanishing Landscape, by Eric Holubow, as an advance ebook for review from Netgalley. Abandoned is a photo collection of abandoned properties across America. I was very impressed with this book. The quality of the photos is amazing, and the author give brief descriptions of the properties, their history, and how they came to be abandoned. I was very surprised by how badly deteriorated some of the buildings were in such a short amount of time. All of the locations had items that an antique enthusiast or renovator would love! The school desks, the detailed woodworking, the stained glass windows! Well done to the author/photographer!

Abandoned: America's Vanishing Landscape by Eric Holubow is a haunting and visually beautiful book that documents through photography buildings such as factories, hospitals, schools, USAF bases, theatres, hotels, and churches that have been abandoned for one reason or another. It is a book that, like other great art, makes the viewer feel and reexamine one's viewpoint. I highly recommend this book.

I first approached this book as one would a coffee table book. The pictures are sufficiently compelling and captioned so that the reader can easily pick up the book at any page and immediately appreciate the content of the book at her or his leisure. I next went through the book from the beginning. There are six sections of this book: Working, Living, Learning, Healing, Playing, and Praying. Each of these sections has its own essay. Written in the first person, these essays take the reader into the experiences of the photographer regarding photographing these segments. These sections make the reader aware of the both the photographer and the things the photographs do not show.

The photography in this place is fantastic and is taken from several regions of the country. For many the places featured will seem familiar and represent places they have encountered. Indeed, it is somewhat shocking how relatively new some of these buildings are. It is always surprising to me too how much is left behind. I was impressed when looking at photographs of one of the locations, that without looking at the caption I recognized immediately where it had been taken and how it had captured the essence of the location.

I would recommend this book for adults and students alike. I think this could be a great conversation starter between generations as well regarding topics such as history (personal or national), architecture, historical preservation, the reuse of buildings, waste, art, and of course photography.