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Summary
Summary
Droves of treasure hunters raided the deserts and crags of the American West in 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, 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 breezes and swing saloon doors; others no more than ruins accessibly only by four-wheel drive - to experience first-hand history frozen in time.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
German photographer Steinhilber was commissioned by Smithsonian magazine to photograph some of the West's best-known ghost towns. His images, 80 of which are collected here, show these beautiful empty places at dusk, illuminated by powerful stage lighting. In this lighting process, these old mining towns take on a new life, with decaying structures glowing, floating into the deep blue sky of the desert. Steinhilber has made the towns of Bodie, CA; Rhyolite, NV; Widtsoe Junction, UT; and others seem almost futuristic in their brightness. Film director Wenders (Paris Texas, etc.) contributes a foreword, and brief essays by Mario Kaiser and Hans-Michael Koetzle (editor, Leica World) complete the book. Like the great photographic artist O. Winston Link, who flooded steam locomotives with light as they sped through the night, Steinhilber has altered places, moods, and notions of ghost towns forever with these dazzling photographs. Recommended for photography sections or large collections on the American West.-David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
