Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Documentation on our inner cities...
Review: This man I applaud for excellent feeling and documentaion of our streets. I think it is wrong to say "something we ignore" written buy another reviewer. I think these cities fell apart because of the people running it and the economy at the time (late 70's) (some of the 80's). I think our economy is very strong and that's why these symbols of decay in america are fading away from it's horizon, however I agree when the author of the book said that "first failing housing projects" what's next "failing town houses" because due to the demolition of well known housing projects in the past 3 years such as Cabrini Green...Many of the poor people are being thrown into the street...people that are old and children as well...so greedy developers can build 300-500 thousand dollar estates in what once was the most "dangerous" "poverty stricken" housing projects. I think changing the physical looks of something has nothing to do with it's success. Crime will still be there no matter what changes are made when it comes to looks. every american should read this book and think twice about saying "something that is ignored" I think if we renovated buildings and stopped the wrecking ball and improved family and education things in this country and our inner cities would be much better. I grew up in the inner city and I remember all of this.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing chronicle of urban decay
Review: Vergara chronicles the very process of urban decay in sequential photos taken over time. The cover of the book sums up the author's process: A grand apartment building stands proudly. Then it stands abandoned. Then, over a dozen photos, it stands as a pile of rubble in a field. Then even the rubble is gone. These pictures speak so eloquently that they really don't need accompanying text, yet Vergara manages to write a compelling and informative text. An excellent addition to the library of anyone who still cares about the urban fabric.
Rating:
Summary: a look at changing urban neighborhoods
Review: Vergara has done an excellent job documenting the changing landscape of America's inner city neighborhoods.The sequence of photographs and the accompaning text take the reader on a journey which sadly, is all to familiar to many inner city residents.Vergara captures in time lapse fashion, images of some of the country's most notorious inner city areas,from their destruction to their renovation and rebirth.I consider this book a must read if your an aficionado of urbanology and sociology.
Rating:
Summary: A moving pictorial of America's abandoned cities
Review: Vergara looks at some major American industrial cities that suffered some horrible disinvestment after World War II. He takes an honest look at the people and buildings in some of America's poorest cities (Camden, Newark, Detroit) and how ugly, cheap, security-conscious and modernistic buildings to serve the ghetto's poor residents have replaced fantastic movie palaces, upscale housing and fading remnants of a wealthier, more egalitarian period in U.S. history.Vergara's prose gets a bit preachy and predictable at times, but the real strength in this book lies in its collection of bleak photos that make you wonder why this nation abandoned its industrial past so quickly and so thoroughly. They speak more than any words can ever do on the plight of America's cities. He shines when he looks at how buildings transform over time - some for better, most for worse. The majority of these photos were taken in the early-1990s, as the crack epidemic was at its peak and the double-digit decline in urban crime was just beginning. With crime down and the urban real estate market up, I view these decade-old photos with a mix of sadness and hope. Vergara's later work, _American Ruins_ does an even better job of looking at how the United States has turned its collective back on its cities. If you read this book, make sure you check out _American Ruins_. They both make Vergara our best chronicler of urban decay.
Rating:
Summary: A mesmerizing, anguishing record of the debris of capitalism
Review: Vergara, in a remarkable combination of matchless photography and philosophical but highly informed commentary, chronicles the shameful destruction of some of our most beautiful American cities. His keen insight into the explosion of tastelessness and banality, combined with his careful time lapse documentation of urban decay, provides a sobering record of urban America. Without proselytizing or advocating any particular solutions, this book will help the reader understand the unprecedented task faced by those who would rebuild and re-energize our lost cities. This is the one book I would take to the proverbial desert island--hours of contemplation guaranteed.
| 
