Customer Reviews

After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received this book along with another one called: "Denial of Disaster: The Untold Story and Photographs of the San Francisco",by Gladys Hansen.

Both books are wonderful to read together because the book by Hansen describes what happened during and after the 1906 Fire (and/or 1906 Earthquake), and this book by Fradkin shows more photos from the tragic event. Thus, I recommend both books highly.

AFTER THE RUINS: 1906 AND 2006 - REPHOTOGRAPHING THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE has been a century in the making, and deserves a spot on any collection purported to be even halfway authoritative about San Francisco or California history. Its purpose seemed simple: to capture the meaning and impact of the 1906 quake through juxtaposing 'before' and 'after' photos, right down to the very angle of original landscapes. The idea was to also document how the city's landscape changed because of and since the quake: black and white and duotone photos by photographer Karin Breuer compliment essays by Philip L. Fradkin and Rebecca Solnit, longtime writers on California history, compliment an outstanding survey. College-level holdings on urban planning and design also should make this a special pick: it's an important documentation of how urban disasters change urban landscapes.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

Anyone who loves San Francisco needs this book. Its obvious that a lot of work went into making this book. Its not a slap-dash book put together by some promo conmpany. It was lovingly created to allow us a before and now look at the City.

This book is good, but more on a "slow to grow on you" scale. I've been to SF., so a lot of the places in the up-date photographs I knew. In that sense, it creates a better impression of the scale of the damage, with the more panoramic studies being (visually) comparable to either Nagasaki or Hiroshima for their almost shock value.

Good Book: Glad I got it !