Customer Reviews

Over New Orleans: Aerial Photographs

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Any one who has been to New Orleans will love this book. The pictures are large, full color and interesting in their persepctive. Even after almost 20 years, many of the landmarks are still easily identified. The cover is an aerial photo of Jackson Square in all its glory.

This is a beautifully photographed tribute to one of the unique American cities. Though the book was first published in the 80's the pictures still resonate. New Orleans went through a building boom during this time so most of it's best modern buildings are represented along with all the historic ones. I loved the views of the Quarter, you just never see it this way, even from the top of the Marriott. I really appreciated the fact that Mr. Gleason also included pictures of significant buildings around New Orleans, like Oak Alley and the Mississippi Delta. New Orleans is one of those cities that just cries to be photographed, like San Francisco and New York City and this book does a wonderful job of giving her her do. I recommend this book to anyone with an appreciation of great photography and one of a kind places.

With 125 pages of photos, this book contains one full-color, large-sized aerial photo (with a few early maps) of New Orleans per page. The pictures were taken in the early 1980s, before the New Orleans World's Fair of 1984. Except for cataclysmic events like Hurricane Katrina, however, the city doesn't really change that quickly. Therefore, occasional visitors to the city will recognize much here. The book begins with a brief history of the city and its architecture, and then proceeds to its main subject. The five chapters, or "Parts", in the book are titled The Vieux Carre (or French Quarter); The Central Business District and Uptown; The Lakefront and Bayou St. John; The River and Bayous; and Festive New Orleans. Each Part is richly illustrated by beautiful and detailed photos. The birds-eye perspective will be unfamiliar to most, but it puts familiar sites and buildings in context and shows the relationships between the old and the new. In some cases it shows the lovely little courtyards that are hidden behind high walls or within private hotels and clubs. The book also shows the strong relationship between New Orleans, the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. It provides a feast for your eyes, and may increase readers' understanding of this city that has been in the news so often recently. I highly recommend it.