Vanishing Histories: 100 Endangered Sites from the World Monuments Watch [Hardcover]

Amery Colin (Author), Brian Curran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

"An important, illuminating call to arms not only for those in the preservation community but for anyone interested in the fate of some of the world's most significant and threatened cultural treasures."
-Robert A.M. Stern

Dedicated to the preservation of our planet's architectural treasures, the World Monuments Watch was established in 1996 to aid in the rescue of endangered cultural sites. Breathtaking full-color photographs, many newly commissioned, portray the most important sites on the Watch's list between 1996 and 2000-including such marvels as the Angkor Archaeological District in Cambodia, Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, ancient Pompeii, and many others around the globe.

Spanning Baroque palace gardens in Vienna to an ancient city in the central Asian desert, the book includes brief discussions of each site. Published in association with the World Monuments Fund, the parent organization of the World Monuments Watch, this richly visual book will appeal to anyone interested in architecture, archaeology, and cultural history.
239 photographs, 150 in full color, 240 pages, 93/4 x 11"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stewarding world history and culture, the World Monument Fund offers both a warning call and a reassurance in Vanishing Histories: 100 Endangered Sites from the World Monuments Watch by Colin Amory with Brian Curran. From Vienna's baroque Belvedere Gardens, Tbilisi's Ottoman-influenced historic district in the republic of Georgia and the 13th-century terraced vineyards in Liguria, Italy, to Cambodia's 12th-century Banteay Chhmar Temple of Jayavarman VII, Cairo's ancient public water distribution centers and Peru's Machu Picchu, the authors provide brief descriptions of the origins, uses, decline and, in many cases, restoration of sites all over the world. Buildings on the south end of Ellis Island, right under New Yorkers' noses, are dangerously fragile and await planned preservation; Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park has undergone extensive preservation efforts. Thoughtful presentation and 222 beautiful photographs (138 in color) make this an ideal gift for travelers and historians.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is an international organization that preserves and safeguards the historic, artistic, and architectural heritage of humankind. This important and beautifully illustrated work coincides with the WMF's biennial Watch List, which identifies 100 of the most imperiled treasures of the world. Amery, an architectural correspondent for the London Financial Times, has joined forces with Curran, director of projects for the WMF, to list and describe each of the endangered sites and to offer a call to save a number of historical monuments, including Prague's historic center, Peru's Machu Picchu, Cambodia's Angkor Archaelogical District, St. Petersburg's Alexander Palace, Colorado's Mesa Verde, and various other churches, synagogues, fortresses, monasteries, and archaeological sites. Poignantly dedicated to the memory of all the vanished monuments, specifically the two giant Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, destroyed this year by the Taliban government, the book features 239 striking photographs, 150 in full color, and includes an excellent index and table of contents. Highly recommended for travel, architecture, and even history collections. Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Svcs., Wondervu, CO
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1St Edition edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810914352
• ISBN-13: 978-0810914353
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this book, June 27, 2008

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Christopher Batchelor (Red Hook, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vanishing Histories: 100 Endangered Sites from the World Monuments Watch (Hardcover)

Although I paged this book through, I was kind of interested in this book. What interested me the most from it, was the fact that some of these are monuments that are being often overlooked to a point of endangerement(like the title specifies).

Buy it and read it, and you'll be amazed too, at what you'll learn as well.