Abandoned Towns was a beautiful coffee table book exploring towns abandoned for a variety of reason. Some were towns abandoned by industry and then slowly emptied. Some were towns developed, but never inhabited. Some were abandoned due to war or disaster. Learning about the circumstances that led each town to become a "ghost town" was very interesting. I would have loved to learn a bit more about each location, but all in all this was a very worthwhile read!

I have an admittedly odd fascination with abandoned places, and this was a fascinating collection of abandoned towns! I really enjoyed it, and I appreciate the opportunity to review this book!

Abandoned Towns is a fascinating pictorial record of abandoned places documented by Chris McNab as part of a series of books with similar themes. Released 14th April 2024 in the UK and due out 11th June outside the UK from publisher Amber Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This is a gorgeous coffee table book full of color photos and descriptions of international destinations which were once thriving and are now abandoned. Many of them are being slowly (or quickly) taken back by nature, and the dichotomy is striking.

Four stars. A beautiful book. It would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, and gift giving purposes.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A fascinating look at the leftovers of civilization, from Pompeii to Pripyat to the old mining towns from the gold rush. There were some interesting surprises in here too: Fordlandia, a manufacturing town experiment in Mexico; a town in the desert where the buildings were essentially melted by a huge rain storm. Mostly photos, with little blurbs on the history of the places - I wanted more of both the photos and the detailed information.

I really enjoyed browsing the photographs in this book, many interested me enough to make me wish there had been more background information on them than there was. I felt there could have been a whole book for each continent in order to satisfy my curiosity.

I did enjoy the book and I thought that the photos were wonderful.
There was something missing though, may be I would have prefered less towns and more information about them. Or maybe, instead of categorising them per continent, I would have prefered per cause of abandonment.
A lovely coffee table book, nevertheless!

Thank you NetGalley and Amber books, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review

It’s hard to resist a book titled Abandoned Towns. The introduction explains the appeal very well: “Abandoned towns have an undeniably haunted aura, the sense that the hollow rooms, wind-swinging doors and silent roads still bear the imprint of those who once lived there, sometimes with unnerving immediacy.” I’ve had fun with similar books on abandoned train stations and abandoned buildings in Scotland, so this seemed like another fun variation on the theme of interesting abandoned ruins.


It does what it says on the tin — pages and pages of photographs of abandoned towns and settlements on all the continents, dating from different times - from Pompeii to Gold Rush towns and boom towns to Chernobyl to new mostly empty developments in China and Spain. These settlements fell victim to many causes - natural and human-made disasters, wars, changing economy and industry, resource depletion, and weather events. Some are well-preserved, others are crumbling ruins; some are beautiful and ancient, and others are sad remnants of mass-produced ugly architecture, many being slowly reclaimed by nature.


It’s structured by continent, and predictably (for me) the few pages about Antarctica (!!) and one on Chernobyl (Pripyat) sparked more interest since those topics always fascinate me.


I do wish the author had focused on fewer places in more detail as many of these photos were barely a glance of an overview, and seeing more parts closer and more explored could have helped to actually feel that haunted abandoned mood that the book was not always very effective at conveying. And some photos are dated and don’t quite convey the present-day reality (apparently it’s been published before, as Ghost Towns in 2018). And maybe I’m an outlier, but even in a photo book I’d appreciate just a bit more context and information instead of the very brief captions provided. But still it was pretty good, even if it left something to be desired.

3 stars.
——————

Thanks to NetGalley and Amber Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 40%

I checked out when Chris McNab called Golconda an abandoned town, seeing as it doesn't fit the definition of either "town" or "abandoned". It may well have been one at some point in time, but the fort on the outskirts of the city of Hyderabad in South India has been a hub of activity for consecutive decades now, and it doesn't fit with McNab's earlier framework of what could be considered abandoned.

This book about abandoned towns around the world is magnificent. Broken down into geographic regions, the photos are beautiful and the information included is fascinating. Both informative and hauntingly gorgeous.

What is it about abandoned places that we find so fascinating? Is it that once there was hope, life, activity in a place and now it’s just a hollow shell? Does it remind us of our impermanence on this earth? Does it show us that time is constantly moving on, that history is being written whether we like it or not? It’s probably a bit of all the above, and in “Abandoned Towns” by Chris McNab we get another glimpse into our past, and maybe what’s in store for our future.

This time we are looking at ghost towns around the world, sorted by continent. Obviously, a lot of these abandoned towns are a bit older, we see old temple complexes and ancient cities that are being reclaimed by nature. The most common sites seem to be tied to industry, mostly mining, where a boom town quickly springs up to support a mine or factory, and just as quickly disappears when the economics of the resources change. I am happy to see the inclusion of Fordlandia, one of the most misguided and little-known ideas of Henry Ford in establishing a Ford rubber plant in the Amazon rainforest.

In addition to the older ruins, we also see modern abandoned buildings, which at times seem even more eerie than those from the past. Some of them are abandoned due to natural or man-made disasters (Chernobyl), some due to war, but the creepiest are the towns that have been built (especially in China) in anticipation of a need that hasn’t materialized yet; these are abandoned without ever having been inhabited.

This is the eighth or ninth book that I’ve had the pleasure to review from Amber Books, all of them have featured gorgeous photography and interesting stories. One of the keys to their appeal is that they have a global perspective, covering each of the continents (even Antarctica in this volume!) and focusing on lesser-known places and pictures. A book to be enjoyed repeatedly.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Amber Books Ltd, Amber Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Abandoned Towns by Chris McNab is an entrancing photographic collection of what was published as Ghost Towns in 2018. A definition of what constitutes ghost towns is given followed by brief descriptions with incredible photographs of geographic regions of the world.

Towns are abandoned for many reasons from natural disasters (floods, sand dunes, drought, volcanos, earthquakes) to economic crises and political upheaval to wars to disappearing industry (grain elevators on the Canadian prairies, salmon canneries in British Columbia, mines in Bolivia and Australia, whaling stations in Antarctica) and nuclear plants. Some described are ancient towns in Europe and the Middle East while others are much more modern. People deserted leper colonies, towns with curses placed upon them and POW camps. I live near an old fortress and monasteries abandoned in medieval times due to the plague and adore exploring them. Books like this are my wheelhouse.

I have seen many of these photographs before so was hoping for new material. But what is here is super fascinating. As a traveler I have had the pleasure of exploring several presented and loads of others. The scope of a comprehensive book series on the topic is enormous!

My sincere thank you to Amber Books Ltd. and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this engrossing coffee table book..

Places once inhabited which are no longer have always been of great interest to me. "If these walls could talk," was one of my first and still favorite "wonders" about places, buildings, and spaces in this world. To understand someone once felt inspired enough, excited enough to change a natural space into a living/work human space to further life endeavors and efforts for survival and development is an amazing, complex ponder. As equally amazing is the realization that those same spaces could in short or long periods of time be found lacking even one live person who still tends that fire - the space is abandoned completely. Such a situation is compelling to me, and here's a book full of it!

Covering all the continents and with beautiful, atmospheric photographs, the author walks a reader through areas on each of them: East Asia, Central Asia, Indian Continent, Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, South and Central America, Australasia and wraps it up with Antarctica.

The author presents reasons for towns, villages and lived-in spaces being abandoned, and his reasoning is well-considered and delivered with breathtaking, haunting photographs supporting the observations offered.

This is a book to get lost in, which will trigger no end of new thoughts on far off places. Very satisfying and thought-provoking.

*A sincere thank you to Chris McNab, Amber Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #AbandonedTowns #NetGalley

I received an arc of this book but unfortunately could not download the complete copy on my reading app. However I was impressed with the book from the first page I glimpsed—an abandoned apartment building in China, I think.

I will be recommending this book to fellow readers and photographers.

Thank you to the Chris McNab, NetGalley and Amber Books for the arc of this book

This book, y’all! This book is absolute perfection!
When traveling, I have always looked for abandoned places to get to see and explore. Wherever I have lived, I have always looked for abandoned places to find and discover.
I have even thought that I might want to move in and live somewhere that’s totally abandoned and forgotten. No idea about the logistics of it all, but people have all sorts of bizarre dreams and wishes, and this is one of mine.
I have visited some of those places in this book. And I have to say, this is a fab collection of abandoned places, with photos that capture the raw beauty of it all. Despite many photos being dated (many of those places are gone now, have been gone for over a decade), despite some of the places being gone and destroyed, and, most likely, never going to be accessible again (like the villages near Chornobyl in Ukraine – now, with the war there, those places are never going to be the same), this is still a beautiful book.
I feel like it’s safe to say that this is also a fairly unique book. I don’t think I have seen many picture books filled with abandoned places and spaces.

"Abandoned Towns" by Chris McNab is a captivating visual journey through forgotten worlds. Divided into chapters by continents, this photo album showcases stunning color photographs of 100 abandoned areas, each with its own intriguing history. From gold rush towns left behind to settlements evacuated due to natural disasters or war, the book delves into the mysteries of these deserted places. With minimal description but powerful imagery, McNab invites readers to explore the eerie beauty of places reclaimed by nature. Each picture tells a story, making this book a quick yet unforgettable read that will leave you admiring its pages over and over again. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and "Abandoned Towns" certainly proves that sentiment true.

Like many, I find ghost.towns and abandoned places really intriguing, so was keen to read Abandoned Places.

I found it a decent collection of photos of abandoned places, and the fact that it was worldwide rather than concentrating on, for example, wild west/gold rush gold towns really added something.

There were some really interesting stories amongst the more common 'the river dried up'/'the metals were all mined' cases, including the town where a natural disaster led to rumour of a curse, and the towns that were evacuated during wars to be used by the military.

However I did think the photos concentrated too much on the enteral buildings, and would have found exploration inside abandoned areas more interesting.

Overall a decent coffee table book.

Abandoned towns, delivers on exactly what it promises. Set out by region, each chapter in the coffee table book features the abandoned towns in that region. The photography is stunning, spooky and atmospheric. I enjoyed reading the captions that accompany each photograph, providing context to why the place was abandoned. The book features the well known ghost towns but the content is also surprising - I assumed all towns would be historically abandoned - so it was interesting to learn about China's ghost towns which rather than abandoned, are empty whilst waiting to be filled by surplus population. I'd liked to have seen more photographs of nature taking back abandoned places, but overall, it was an interesting and unusual read.

I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Abandoned Towns (previously published as Ghost Towns) is a photographic book covering a topic that is becoming increasingly popular on social media , video and publishing. This book provides a nice overview of examples from different types of manmade places, now mostly abandoned. Divided into geographic chapters (Central Asia, India, Middle East and so on) the author present examples from ancient times to very recent times. Buildings, infrastructure, transportation, public venture. All are presented with a brief description giving context of the past, the present and future.

Some areas and topics are well known already from previous publications of one sort or another. For example, deserted Chinese cities, constructed due to over-optimistic planning and population growth. Always fascinating to view, even if relatively well known. Other example are probably less well known, perhaps due to their isolated locations or troubled pasts. Central Asian examples are particularly interesting as whole towns and areas are abandoned due to various conflicts, damage, destruction, forced migration and other man-inflicted reasons.

Examples from Asia and India are something the result of former colonial powers being no longer needed or fondly remembered. Other cities and places may have declined due to more recent impacts from totalitarian regimes and changed economic circumstances. In addition to political, economic and geographical reasons, natural causes sometime cause adverse changes. Earthquakes, volcanos and severe climate has resulted in population movements and abandonment. Examples are presented from Europe, North America and Australia . The Middle East and Africa are represented by more ancient places, both grand as well as humble, testament to changing circumstances.

Although the reader may be familiar with some example (China, Pompeii and of course Pripyat in Ukraine (with a strategically placed child toy of course, in a school room or house near Chernobyl), other often newer examples are quite fascinating. The global housing bubble in 2008 has left Spain with newly constricted areas of abandoned residential apartments, office buildings and public infrastructure. Not overgrown ancient relics but modern places. Just with very few inhabitants ! Other economic ruins , for example in North America, although appropriate for this book, do seem a little shabby and squalid, and of little beauty.

South American examples of abandonment are often due to changing economic needs of the world with regard to minerals and materials. Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s great experiment in the jungle of Brazil is rightly included in the book. Perhaps a unique and certainly fascinating example of abandonment.

But for the most part, the photos are nicely selected and presented. They are fascinating, sad, sometime shocking and often atmospheric. The author provides a brief written description to give context. The circumstances that brought about the cities and town in the first place. And the reason or combinations of reasons for their decline. The future is also discussed. Be it a slow return to what was previously present, jungle or a barren landscape. Other times, these areas can provide tourism for cultural and academic visitors.

In summary, a pleasant and engaging book, with brief accompanying text, providing context and background. The 150 photos from all over the world show a wide geographic spread of abandoned places and explain their downfall due to variety of reasons. Readers may be left wanting more and seek further information on how these cities and areas developed, once thrived and subsequently declined.

One word to describe this book…. exhilarating!

The ideal read for anyone looking for a quick and light read.

I was pleasantly surprised by seeing this abandoned history.

My favourite was Pompeii :)

I loved that each picture gave a small explanation as well.

Go read this book! You will be amazed.

An interesting collection of abandoned places shown in a geographic order.

This book was a slight disappointment because it’s essentially a collection of stock images with snippets of information. The places which are featured have often been covered before and with more information.

I liked the organisation by geographic region but wished there was more writing about each place. I would also have preferred original photos as many are ones that have been used in many other similar books.