Customer Reviews

Waiting for the End of the World

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

 

 

I had the pleasure of discovering Richard Ross' latest photographic endeavor at Book Expo last week in Chicago, where it was prominently displayed in the Princeton Architectural Press' booth. The photographs are splendid; quirky, heartfelt, enigmatic, a combo Ross effortlessly seems to get into a lot of his work.

How Ross also got into all these places is another amazing component of this project: he has to be one of the most intrepid, hard-working photo-artists presently at work.

The book is at once a thoughtful reminder of a former era of nuclear peril, and yet the images have a contemporary resonance, faced as we are (once again) with the threat of a world gone nuclear. Congratulations to the author on this tour-de-force effort.

The subject of armageddon, nuclear or other means, and how certain people equip themselves to survive it, is continually interesting. The author addresses some of the issues of the topic well, with a small interview in the beginning, and with the numerous photos in the book. In all, I would say the book is about 20% text, 60% photos, and 20% white space. I was very excited about this book and the material, but was left feeling slightly unfufilled. There are many examples of shelters, ranging in dates from 1000BC to present day; showing an interesting progression. For each shelter, there is a whole page dedicated to the description, that is only half filled with large text. I would have like some more details about the specific situation of each. Then there are anywhere from only 1 to 5+ photos of the shelter. These were very interesting, but many were too small; with 2 to 4 shrunk to fit the page. With the amount of time the author spent gathering this work, the reduced photos do not due justice. If this were made into a coffee table book, with individual large photo prints on nice stock, I would certainly recommend it. As it is, I found it just a passing curiosity, lacking in depth.

The descriptions of the places and people behind these pictures was really interesting. I would have given more stars if the pictures were bigger. Some of them were as small as thumbnail pictures.

This is a beautiful book, and one of only a handful that I keep by my bedside. I love the color throughout the book, and the format and layout are well designed. I'm a textile designer, and this is one of the books I like to flip through for inspiration.
Each location has a brief history, so you're not left wondering what part of the world the photo is from. I found my copy at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, but I would have picked it up in a heartbeat if I had found it anywhere. This book would make a great gift for anyone who appreciates photography, design, architecture, or - of course - bomb shelters.