Abandoned America Edition 1. [Hardcover]

Steve Gottlieb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1585361054 | ISBN-13: 978-1585361052 | Edition: 1

Where there has been life, there are elements of that life left behind. Hidden among our present are the vestiges of days long forgotten. They are everywhere. They are pieces of our history -- they are the incidentals of our collective American genealogy. They are the man-made objects and structures that have outlived their functions, becoming part of the abandoned periphery. Award-winning photographer Steve Gottlieb has traveled from coast to coast attempting to capture these links to our bygone eras. His images are hauntingly evocative of a past that we rarely see, and this collection represents his journey across Abandoned America. (20030201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...There is something haunting about the vision of these now-forsaken places."
-- USA Today (December 5, 2002) (USA Today 20030112)

"...This book is a stimulating collection of haunting images that attests to his (photographer, Steve Gottlieb's) high level of photographic expertise. The photos themselves speak volumes but the addition of enlightening captions give the book a soft voice that is unforgettable."
-- Shutterbug (February 2003) (Shutterbug (Titusville, FL) 20030101)

"...Steve Gottlieb, a lawyer-turned-photographer, has found uncommon beauty and a disquieting sadness in abandoned objects... the manner in which Gottlieb presents them is fresh and often arresting... The reproduction of Gottlieb's color photography is sharp, the layout is attractive and the hues are brilliant..."
-- Journal (Albuquerque, NM) (January 12, 2003) (Journal (Albuquerque, NM) 20030101)

"Steve Gottlieb's touching photographs remind us to stop going past these objects of the past without thinking why they mattered or why anybody would bother to photograph them."
-- Times (El Paso, TX) (January 2003) (Times (El Paso, TX) 20021227)

"...Steve Gottlieb documents in his gorgeous, austere book Abandoned America... smaller, poetically personal bits of lives and times lefts behind... The images are poignant and often lonely, but, in preserving history's lost details, they're also strangely hopeful. Gottlieb says it best himself: 'It's as if I'm saying to these vanishing objects,... I want my images to bestow upon you (and perhaps myself) a flicker of immortality."
-- Ruminator Review (St. Paul, MN) (Winter 2003) (Ruminator Review (St. Paul, MN) 20021222)

"...The car rests like a half-written mystery, a provocative tale begging to be finished by whoever sees the image on the cover..."
-- Chicago Herald (December 2002) (Chicago Herald 20021222)

"...some of the year's most intriguing photography books..."
-- Boston Globe (December 2002) (Boston Globe 20021217)

"...The book will trigger many deep, conflicting emotions for readers."
-- Journal (Albuquerque, NM) (December 22, 2002) (Journal (Albuquerque, NM) 20021215)

"...These ghostly shots from around the United States... are silent sentinels to what has already become history. Their sun-drenched colors keep the concept from getting too maudlin; instead, there's a bittersweet poignancy to the images..."
-- Las Vegas Sun (December 17, 2002) (Las Vegas Sun 20021201)

"...Steve Gottlieb finds striking beauty in the no longer useful... There is an almost lyrical quality to his pictures..."
-- Hackensack Sunday Record (December 15, 2002) (Hackensack Sunday Record 20021201)

"...More than a nostalgic adventure into our nation's past, the book is also a journey across its magnificent geography."
-- Studio Photography & Design (December 2002) (Studio Photography & Design )

"...These evocative and haunting images are accompanied by Gottlieb's brief and unpretentious descriptions."
-- Times (Trenton, NJ) (December 2002) (Times (Trenton, NJ) )

About the Author

Steve Gottlieb has traveled through all fifty states photographing people, architecture, landscapes, and abandoned objects. His award-winning pictures have been published in hundreds of magazines, advertisements, and annual reports worldwide. Murals from his first book, "Washington: Portrait of a City," form the core of a permanent exibition about our capital city at the National Building Museum. His second book, "American Icons," is a visual celebration of our nation's most widely recognized symbols. A graduate of Columbia College and Law School, Gottlieb labored for ten years as a lawyer, after which he turned his lifelong hobby of photography into a second career.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition (December 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585361054
• ISBN-13: 978-1585361052
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An over-bright look at the Nation, March 16, 2003

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abandoned America Edition 1. (Hardcover)

Photographs of the abandoned America seem very appropriate for the world's leading throwaway society and whereas photographers elsewhere might concentrate on abandoned historical ruins it does seem that many American photographers seek out the discarded that is just left and forgotten. Maybe this is because there is so much of it around, and in a huge country it seems all too easy to walk away from a building, a vehicle, a sign that has become redundant. To remove it becomes someone else's problem but before that happens a lot of photographers can show their creativity by capturing it on film.

Steve Gottlieb has travelled the country looking for, as the chapters show, houses and barns, factories and equipment, vehicles, signs and facades and finally a kaleidoscope of odds and ends. Another reviewer has mentioned the color and this is what I noticed first, it is very garish and uneven and there are very few true blacks anywhere. The technical notes mention that the images have been color corrected where needed and although the plates are printed in a very fine screen (over 200 dpi I think) the lack of solid blacks give most of the photos a pastel feel and detracts from the raw grittiness of the subject.

It is also a book of unfortunate technical contrasts, page twelve shows an old wooden house surrounded by bright (color corrected?) green trees making the photo look rather artificial yet turn over the page and there is a stunning black and white (using the four color black printing process) photo of three abandoned houses with a dead tree in the middle of the composition. Page 136 shows a deserted amusement park with very washed out color, over the page a super image of an abandoned hospital in New York with Manhattan in the background looking just like someone has made a collage of various skyscrapers and created a city skyline.

It is the uneven color that spoils the book for me. I have some books that cover the (almost) same subject better and they are in black and white, this seems much more appropriate for this material, 'Meadowlands' by Ray Mortenson, covering the industrial landscape of New Jersey, 'The Hand of Man on America' by David Plowden and 'Dead Tech' with photos by Manfred Hamm. This is a quite extraordinary book of photos (and text) of abandoned technology in Europe and America. For very controlled color work have a look at 'The Democratic Forest' by William Eggleston and 'Written in the West' by film director Wim Wenders, photos of abandoned bric-a-brac from southewest USA.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respecting What Was, March 7, 2003

By 

Paul A. Jones (Neenah, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abandoned America Edition 1. (Hardcover)

I really appreciated the vibrant colors and the generally high production values of the photographs in this beautiful book. Typically, photographs of abandoned, worn out and discarded items are done in a style that highlights the "used up" aspect of the subject. Most of the photographs in Abandoned America, on the other hand, give their subjects one last opportunity to "shine" in the conventional sense; to, perhaps, get one last chance at life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A visually appealing document of abandoned objects, February 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Abandoned America Edition 1. (Hardcover)

I won't bother to describe the nature of this book, the other reviews take care of that. So I'll just give my opinion. I've always been interested in photography of abandoned or damaged objects, and was drawn to this book and very satisfied with the results. Yes, Gottlieb is a good technician, using the rule of thirds, pumping up the color a bit here and there, and (admittedly) doing a little Photoshopping to remove unwanted objects. He's a pro, and that's what they do. He's not just documenting these things for posterity, he's trying to create memorable images with them as well, and mostly succeeds. I also have some minor quibbles with his occasional choice of fisheye lenses and deliberately placing his shadow in a picture, but for the most part, he impressed me with his style and keen eye. The photos made me want to quit my job and travel around the country, looking for similar places off the beaten path.