Bunker Archaeology [Paperback]

Paul Virilio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

Out of print for almost a decade, we are thrilled to bring back one of our most requested hard-to-find titlesphilosopher and cultural theorist Paul Virilio's Bunker Archeology. In 1994 we published the first English-language translation of the classic French edition of 1975, which accompanied an exhibition of Virilio's photographs at the Centre Pompidou. In Bunker Archeology, urbanist Paul Virilio turns his attentionand camerato the ominous yet strangely compelling German bunkers that lie abandoned along the coast of France. These ghostly reminders of destruction and oppression prompted Virilio to consider the nature of war and existence, in relation to both World War II and contemporary times. Virilio discusses fortresses and military space in general as well as the bunkers themselves, including an examination of the role of Albert Speer, Hitler's architect, in the rise of the Third Reich.

Editorial Reviews

Review

By refusing to recoil in horror from these ironic monuments, or even simply to ignore them as so many other shell-shocked by the experience of war had done, Virilio admirably shows how even the most challenging forms of architecture are open to historical debate and aesthetic interpretation. The book's black-and-white photographs are poignant illustrations of his larger points. --Dwell: (January, 2009)

"Paul Virilio's classic book of wartime architectural history, Bunker Archeology, is finally back in print with a fantastic new edition from Princeton Architectural Press. The book had taken on the feel of something like an urban legendsomething of which many had heard but few had directly experiencedso it's good to get our hands on a copy." -- Geoff Manaugh (January, 2009) --Dwell Magazine

"Bunker Archeology redefines the blockhaus within the cultural context of modern architecture, providing an iconic model for French design cultural that represents both its extremes and limits. Its metaphor becomes the means to conceptually objectify architecture to a minimalist end, allowing the architect to play on the theme of the monolith and its aftermath, the fractal." --The Architect's Newspaper

Review

"The Atlantic Wall, (was) an attempt by the Germans to fortify the entire west coast of France as the threat of Allied invasion increased. The relics of this 'wall', on cliff-tops or among sand dunes, staring out at the sae, are the subject of Bunker Archeology." -- Andrew Mead (June, 1996)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568980159
• ISBN-13: 978-1568980157
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #625,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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