Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today [Hardcover]

James Blakeway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2005

Bold, innovative, technological marvels, skyscrapers first became part of the nation’s landscape of triumphalism during the Gilded Age. In the 20th century, they began to form distinctive skylines, reflections of the unique character of each metropolis. A distinctive piece of Americana, skylines have grown to embody the national character and tradition, a combination of ingenuity, courage, bravado, and the will to accomplish the seemingly impossible, and an expression of the freedom to reach the greatest heights of human experience that has shaped the United States. Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today showcases the skylines of 48 great American cities with the brilliant panoramic photographs of Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas. Historical views of these cities, both photographs and detailed maps, reflect the increased importance of civic pride over the past century. Historian M. Hill Goodspeed guides readers through each city, offering atmospheric historical portraits to accompany the vintage images and the stunning contemporary Blakeway images.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

M. Hill Goodspeed is the Director of the Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library and Historian at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. Grandson of a World War II naval aviator, he is a native of Pensacola. James Blakeway founded Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas in 1989. Blakeway was joined in 1991 by photographer Christopher Gjevre. Together, this team travels in pursuit of photographs as many as 200 days out of the year. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Universe (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883636859
• ISBN-13: 978-0883636855
• ASIN: 0883635275
• Product Dimensions: 17.9 x 12.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Downtown from up, April 11, 2008

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today (Hardcover)

I think the first thing to say about this book is the huge size. Almost eighteen inches wide with forty-eight city panoramas that open up to thirty-three inches wide so you'll rarely have seen your downtown in such a dramatic format. Enhanced all the more because many of the shots are taken at dusk or night which brings out the kaleidoscope of lights typical of city centers.

All of the contemporary photography was done by James Blakeway who seems to specialize in aerial photography of the world's cities. Check out the Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas website to see a whole load more photos and read how Blakeway achieves these eye-popping images.

I would be happy if the book just contained the forty-eight city center panoramas but there is a spread preceeding each image that has text and several historical illustrations to reveal the background of each place. The text and picture captions are rather generalized (how can anyone sum up a city in a few hundred words?) and I thought it might have been helpful to include a short bibliography about each city. The panoramas have their own captions which name the main buildings and fortunately someone had the good sense to include a simple skyline drawing with the buildings numbered.

One of the strenghts of the book, I thought, was the concentration on downtown rather than high aerial shots. San Francisco is shot like this (and the camera angle makes it look remarkably like a version of Sim City) with the buildings stretching away from you but if you cover the downtown buildings it looks very much like any other city. The downtowns of so many places in the book are quite unique: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Memphis, Dallas or Atlanta for instance. It is the skyscraper, I think, that makes most of the panoramas so fascinating.

Aerail shots of America, whether cities, suburbs, country or just the untouched by man areas (and there are plenty left in the Nation) produce intriguing photos and a book I've enjoyed a lot is Alex MacLean's Designs on the Land: Exploring America From the Air with 420 wonderful photos of everything from above.

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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book that weighs a ton!, July 5, 2008

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today (Hardcover)

I've always been fascinated to old black-and-white photos, especially ones that show growth over time. The book Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today by M. Hill Goodspeed is a visually stunning look at some major American cities, both early in their history, and how they look now. The only drawback to the book... it is *really* heavy! :)

Contents:
The Northeast: New York; Hartford; Providence; Boston; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.
The Southeast: Richmond; Charlotte; Charleston; Atlanta; Savannah; Jacksonville; Tampa; Orlando; Miami
The Midwest: Chicago; Milwaukee; Madison; Minneapolis; St. Paul; Detroit; Cleveland; Columbus; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; St. Louis; Kansas City
South Central: Louisville; Nashville; Memphis; Little Rock; New Orleans; Dallas; Austin; San Antonio; Houston
The West: Denver; Salt Lake City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Diego; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Portland; Seattle; Honolulu

Most of the city chapters cover two double-page spreads. The first two page combination gives a short history of the city, along with a number of black-and-white photos covering an earlier time in the city's history. There's usually at least one panoramic black-and-white picture showing an early version of the skyline, as well as a hand-drawn map of the city, complete with minute details common to those early days of mapmaking. Each of the photos has detailed captions that tell the viewer what they're seeing. Turning the page gets you a full color panoramic picture of the current skyline, quite often shot at twilight or night. The effect is a beautiful image of the city in all its splendor. This color image is also annotated with a guide to all the major building that show up.

This is the true definition of a coffee-table book... one that you'd place on your coffee-table for viewing by guests. But in this case, you'll need the coffee-table just to hold the thing! It's a foot and a half wide, and a foot high, with a weight tipping the scales over seven pounds. The paper weight is heavy and high-quality, so you're assured of getting beautiful images. Just don't expect to read this in bed propped up on your chest. I tried... it doesn't work. :)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, January 18, 2007

By 

Nicole Nelson (jacksonville, florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skylines: American Cities Yesterday and Today (Hardcover)

the book was great the skylins shots are great in the book and my city jacksonville florida is in there the pictures are amazing i recommend the book to anyone who takes an interest in cities and their skylines