American Castles: A Pictorial History

Customer Reviews:

Mostly exterior photos of the major "Castels" in the USA.......2007-07-25

This is a nice hardback book with beautifully photographed pictures of the "MAJOR" USA Castles (or mansions) . Please note that most of the photos in this book are of the exteriors.

There are many other mansions still around in the USA, but this book contains the most well-known "mansions",photographed on the outside.

An excellent introduction.......2004-09-04

Though I greatly enjoyed a visit to Hearst's "Castle" in San Simeon some years ago, as a European one tends to be unaware that it isn't the only building of its kind in the USA. This book provides an excellent overview of what's on offer, and for me truly opened up whole new perspectives on architecture. The shameless display of wealth is very much to the fore in several of the houses that are documented. Though the results are sometimes in questionable taste, or even childishly naïve, and architects apparently weren't always able to articulate the difference between a hallway in a private dwelling and an opera house lobby, there is also an exhilarating buoyancy to it all that's rarely found in European buildings, weighed down as they are by historical and stylistic consciousness (barring maybe a few Victorian extravaganzas in the UK and of course Ludwig II's castles in Bavaria). Confections like the dining room at The Breakers or the ballroom at Marble House might have been cooked up in Hollywood as sets for some million-dollar fairy tale movie and are simply mind-blowing.
Still, of even greater interest than these would-be Versailles' are quintessentially American buildings like the Carson House in Eureka or the bizarre Winchester "Mystery" House. All of these are shown to excellent advantage in this book, with an occasional Italianate Palazzo and the odd gothic monstrosity thrown in for good measure. Both interiors and exteriors are (selectively) documented. Texts are brief and to the point. The photography is more than serviceable, though of somewhat variable quality and rarely quite top-notch. Still, at the price nobody interested need hesitate to pick up this slim volume. If you are seriously interested in the subject I would however urge you (also) to invest in the McAlister's more comprehensive, scholarly, and visually stunning "Great American Houses", which includes floor plans, unfortunately missing in the present book.

Bargain price for wonderful pics of Architecture & Interiors.......2002-01-29

For $10.36 you simply cant beat the value of the beautiful photos in this book. Grand 'modern' castles & mansions of the Guilded Era with pictures of their interiors also. My favorites are the Hearst mansion/castle & the Hammond castle. I gave it less than 5 stars because it is only 80 pages long. I gave it more than 3 stars for the exquisite photos.

See other books I have reviewed if you want more suggestions for books on castles & architecture.

American Castles.......2000-04-05

A variety of architectural styles are represented in this full color book, including gothic castles, victorian mansions and palazzos. Each building represented contains a brief history and beautiful photographs. A few of the castles highlighted are the monumentous Hearst Castle, the Winchester Mystery House and Ca'd'Zan. Newport's mansions are well represented also. It is an absolute bargain for the price. Short and sweet it is a great way to start a library of castles. I would highly recommend.

Bannerman Castle (NY) (Images of America)

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Bannerman Castle (NY) (Images of America)
Thom Johnson , and Barbara H. Gottlock
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Morro Bays past.......2006-08-11

I found the book full of great pictures. Lots information that
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A very welcome and important addition to the limited printed information available.......2006-06-08

Issued in May-June, 2006, "Morro Bay (Images of America)" by Roger Castle and Gary Ream for The Historical Society of Morro Bay, is a very welcome and important addition to the limited printed information available about the history of Morro Bay, CA, a California central coast treasure. This is a must-have volume for local residents and others interested in Morro Bay history, along with the earlier classic 1982 "Morro Bay's yesterdays: Vignettes of our city's lives & times" by Dorothy Gates and Jane Bailey. Both books provide extensive historical photos not available elsewhere. While most Morro Bay historical information that is online can be found from links from the historical tab of morro-bay.com at morro-bay.com/historical, the contents of these two books exceeds what is available online. Castle and Ream pack their 128 page "Morro Bay (Images of America)" with fully annotated photos on every page. The magic of print-on-demand pioneered by their publisher arcadiapublishing.com makes for an interesting intersection of modern technology with historical content. I wish the authors had used Photoshop photo enhancement more aggressively to bring out the contrast, brightness, and sharpness of the hundreds of photos painstakingly assembled in this wonderful collection. The amount of time and effort devoted to collecting and preparing these photo treasures must have been be extensive. Thanks to the authors and The Historical Society of Morro Bay for this essential addition to my library.

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In 2003/2004 Elizabeth Heyert photographed the bodies of more than thirty people at the Harlem funeral parlor of Isaiah Owens who prepared the corpses for their last journey. She would take pictures early in the morning, after the families had said goodbye to their loved ones the previous evening and before the service later in the morning.

This book is a unique contribution to contemporary portrait photography. It is movingly intimate but never sensationalist. As Heyert explains, there is a historical dimension to these images: „I was aware that I was also photographing a community from the past, a vanishing piece of cultural history. Some of the people I photographed left a brutal life in the Depression-era South to move to Harlem, where many of the southern religious traditions were re-established. Younger peo-ple were born and died in Harlem, but were still buried according to the old style, dressed for going to the party (Isaiah Owens) but in snazzy track suits instead of burial gowns. With Harlem rapidly changing, these traditions are fading. I hope my photographs will tell some small part of the story of a passing generation and their way of death.„

Elizabeth Heyert is the author/photographer of Metropolitan Places, The Artful Table, The Glasshouse Years, and The Sleepers.

Customer Reviews:

All dressed up with some where to go..........2007-06-27

Elizabeth Heyert's work is fascinating. The book haunts you with its images long after you put it down. You can almost envision these people as they were once alive. Each one tells a story. Loved it!

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