Product Description

Droves of treasure hunters raided the deserts and crags of the American West during the mid-19th century hoping to make a fortune in gold, silver, and copper. Of the thousands of mining towns that sprang up, most have disappeared from the map, but a scant few remain as spooky reminders of dreams that failed. Each year, visitors from around the world journey to these ghost towns--some resembling Hollywood movie sets, complete with tumbleweeds, howling winds, and swinging saloon doors; others no more than a few ruins in a secluded area accessible only by four-wheel drive--to experience firsthand the lure of history frozen in time.

Commissioned by Smithsonian Magazine, award-winning photographer Berthold Steinhilber sought out these phantom towns throughout the West. He probed into the mysteries of deserted places like Bodie, California; Gold Point, Nevada; and Steins, New Mexico, in order to reveal the region's boom-and-bust legacy. Shooting at dusk, using long exposures and a powerful headlamp, he created an eerie ambiance in his photographs of 19 of the most intriguing ghost towns, capturing their lost secrets for all to see.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #951142 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 120 pages

From Publishers Weekly
German freelance photographer Steinhilber gathers 80 full-color photographs of Western ghost towns in this glossy testament to the boom-and-bust of the Gold Rush era. On commission from Smithsonian Magazine, Steinhilber set up his tripod in 19 different abandoned places, shooting as darkness fell; with a powerful headlamp and long exposures, he captured crumbling buildings, old chimneys and rotting mills. With richly blue skies in the background, and the light catching the tips of grasses or the curve of pebbles in the foreground, these pictures show the buildings illuminated as if by klieg lights; the effect is to render them eerily, glowingly clear. They look fake, even-like Hollywood back lot renditions of saloons and mines (some of the buildings were actually featured in TV and film westerns). The effect grows a little stale, and the more traditional shots-interiors with old portraits and school desks, barbershop chairs and typewriters-are not especially interesting. But the spooky exterior shots are a startling way to look at towns that sprang up quickly and died nearly as swiftly, and the captions offering thumbnail sketches of places like Manhattan, Nev. (which "a few determined people" still call home) and Bodie, Calif., are fine historical tidbits.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Steinhilber has altered spaces, moods, and notions of ghost towns forever with these dazzling photographs." -- Library Journal

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Customer Reviews

great godfrey - ghosts are beautiful after all.
Having been to many of the places described here with my camera, I can only say the photos are stunning....and anyone who doesnt think the western sky can be that blue needs to go to a few of these places in the spring or fall when the sky is clear.

While Bodie is my favorite, a lot of others such as Silver City Idaho get less attention.

It's also sad to note that many of the unprotected places are disappearing as more and more nincompoops on fourwheelers destroy and steal what little remains.

Ghost Towns of the American West
Bodie, a ghost town in the Sierras beyond Yosemite, is preserved by California park rangers in a state of arrested decay. It's a magical place, one of my favorites, but I have never seen it as this German photographer depicts it, bathed in the surreal light of car headlights. Here, you can feel the presence of the ghosts-in the schoolroom, the general store, and lodging house; most of all in the 1940s car with its gaping windshield, abandoned in the long grass. Wim Wenders, poet and filmmaker of lonely places, writes in the preface: "These buildings...suddenly have great dignity. They stand there gazing into the camera like very old people who have never before had their pictures taken, after a lifetime of work and sacrifices." (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

Review - Ghost Towns of the Ameica West
An Outstanding book Glad to have it in my collection. Great for trip planning