Alastair Horne

Abandoned Scotland by Alastair Horne is a beautiful coffee table book that presents places that have been abandoned for one reason or another.

I really enjoy abandoned and places experiencing decay, whether old like the castles in this volume or urban, also included here. As much as I enjoy exploring such sites looking at these photographs offers a different kind of enjoyment. Being physically at a place is so much more tactile that, while your mind does touch on who may have walked, worked, or lived there, you're swept up in being there. The photographs, at least for me, lend themselves to something akin to writing a story. I can stare at the picture and imagine people doing whatever they would do. Yeah, I know, you can do that when you're there too, but I tend to keep moving, watching my step in some places, and rarely just stop long enough to create much more than a mental snapshot of what might have happened there.

Though I have only been to a couple of the places in this book, the pictures make me feel like I have been there. A few of the places were so intriguing I looked up more information on them and, in most cases, was rewarded with additional images and more information.

Whether you want this as a coffee table book or you just like having pictures such as these, you will be pleased with this volume. By the way, I've had a few people wonder how I can rate a coffee table book as five stars, the same as I might give a classic novel. I rate based on what it is. As coffee table books go, I find this to be a five.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mais)

Alastair Horne's book Graves of the Great and Famous offers an intriguing perspective on the final resting places of a number of notable figures from throughout history. This picture and info book provides readers with a unique opportunity to learn more about some of the most prominent individuals in history, through exploring their gravesites and memorials. The oldest graves include King Richard; the more recent burials are from just a few years ago.

Throughout the book, Horne's writing style is both concise and engaging, allowing readers to become fully immersed in the fascinating stories of these remarkable people. Using a combination of historical facts and personal observations, Horne offers a carefully woven tapestry of the individual and their lives.

Interesting facts include:

The Curies are buried in lead-lined coffins due to their bodies' radioactivity.

Dian Fossey is buried in a graveyard in Rwanda, that she established for the gorillas she lived among.

William Shakespeare died on his birthday- April 23.

Paul Gauguin is buried in French Polynesia (Hiva Oa) and has a statue of the Tahitian goddess of mourning, Oviri, beside his grave.

Elizabeth Taylor's funeral was purposely delayed 15 mins because her will stipulated that she be late for her own funeral.

One of the most interesting facets of the book is Horne's exploration of the different burial practices and traditions from throughout history and across cultures. Readers will be fascinated to learn about the different ways in which various societies have chosen to remember and honor their beloved leaders and cultural icons throughout the ages.

The book also features beautiful photographs that bring these gravesites and memorials to life, adding depth and dimension to the experiences and stories being told. If you love history or trivia, or are attracted to the haunting beauty of cemeteries old and new, this book's for you!

****Many thanks to Netgalley and Amber Books Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (mais)

Graves of the Great & Famous, by Alastair Horne, is an attractive and interesting look at the graves (broadly defined) and lives of a number of famous people.

To admit one's fascination in cemeteries, funeral rites, and history is to join with an extremely large number of fellow enthusiasts, and this book will appeal to all of us. The photographs are very good, there are brief summaries of lives and/or deaths, and some of the more famous cemeteries are given a little bit of a description as well.

This doesn't go into great detail on any one aspect, but that also isn't the point of the book. It is to let those who may never get a chance to see but a handful of these the opportunity to see the others. Even those of us who plan visits to cemeteries when we travel aren't likely to visit all of these. And looking at pictures of the ones you have visited will be nostalgic, at least it was for me.

Highly recommended for both those interested in burial sites and those more interested in celebrities and where they have been laid (or spread, or just memorialized).

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mais)