Abandoned; Ruins, Wrecks, and Moments of a Forgotten Past
Contributors: Robert Grenville, and Chris McNab
Publisher: Amber Books
Published: 2017
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 447
ISBN-13: 9781782745570
Subjects: Ruins; International; Abandoned places; Abandonment of automobiles; Ghost towns; Abandon de véhicule; Villes fantômes
Description: From an American World War II fighter plane buried in the shallows of a British beach to a medieval castle protecting a border that no longer exists and from a Soviet space shuttle gathering dust in a dilapidated hangar to a deserted prison, Abandoned features wrecks and strongholds, factories and railway stations, theaters, haunted mansions, and ghost towns that time has left behind. With 320 photographs, this book is a pictorial examination of places that time forgot, a window into a forgotten past.
Notes: Have you ever wondered what the world would look like without us? Or tried to imagine if humankind disappeared from the face of the Earth, how long it would take for buildings to begin to collapse, for grass and trees to grow through the roads, and for nature to reclaim our towns and cities? Abandoned will give you some idea. From an American World War II fighter plane buried in the shallows of a British beach to a medieval castle protecting a border that no longer exists; and from a Soviet space shuttle gathering dust in a dilapidated hangar to a deserted prison, Abandoned features wrecks and stronghold, factories and railway stations, theaters, haunted mansions, and ghost towns that time has left behind. But by their very state of dilapidation, these abandoned places and vehicles now offer us a window into history. Yes, they have been left to the elements, but they have also been set free from our relentlessly modernizing hands. Untouched, they provide a glimpse into a past where humanity stood still, but where nature marched on. With 320 strangely beautiful photographs, Abandoned is a brilliant pictorial examination of places that time forgot. Windows into a forgotten past Featuring aircraft graveyards, trains with no passengers, Abandoned takes us to places that time has left behind. Wrecked and ruined these vehicles and buildings may be, but their abandonment has, in fact, saved them for us. Not only have they escaped being scrapped or torn down, but, lost or ignored for years or even centuries, they are celebrated today as time capsules, their rusting hulks and battered structures now historical and cultural landmarks. There is an eerie beauty, too, as the natural world closes in. Tanks and ships resting on the seabed become encrusted in anemones, saplings sprout through cars, jungle slowly envelopes crashes find their battlements dressed in ivy and their stone floors carpeted with moss. Whether it be Alcatraz or a Nevada gold rush ghost town, ancient Greek forts or French chateaux, the wreck of the Titanic or a London bus marooned in the Australian desert, Abandoned tells the stories of more than 250 places lost in time.