Books, Noted
Uncommon and Unheralded Museums, Beverly Narkiewitcz and Lincoln S. Bates
An ecclectic collection of a few hundred small museums in the USA, with hours, admission rates, and a half page or so description on each one. Intentionally omits (for the most part) "questionable" roadside attractions, county historical museums, natural history museums, historic homes, and military museums.
Breakdown: Deadly Technological Disasters, Edited by Neil Schlager
This book contains stories found in the much larger library reference work When Technology Fails, published by Gale Research. The 34 disasters selected for this 250 page book are fairly well known, including several airline crashes, nuclear submarine wrecks, hotel fires, and structural failures.
The Culture of Nature: North American Landscape from Disney to the Exxon Valdez, Alexander Wilson
As the title suggests, this book is a fun look at all sorts of built landscapes, and a nice review of things like Montreal's Expo 67, and ecological disater sites. Wilson, writing as a Oakland native transplanted in Toronto reminds us that "no area in the continental US is more than 21 miles from a road".
The Greatest Explosions In History, Ragnar Benson
A unique little book that points out some of the more dramatic, in size and in effect, explosions that have taken place throughout the world and throughout history. Of the 20 discussed in the book, most are industrial or military accidents, and some of the most interesting ones took place in the former Soviet Union.
Trinity's Children, Tad Bartimus and Scott McCartney
The book follows the route of Interstate 25, from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Buffalo, Wyoming, describing the nuclear/military/industrial facilities which are clustered along this highway: from the Trinity Site to the ICBM fields of the Great Plains. Unfortunately, the authors gush with biased rhetoric, and the style of the prose is casual and self-righteous.
Gurnee Guide to American Caves, Russel and Jeanne Gurnee
A state by state listing and brief description of the over 200 "show caves" in the USA, with addresses and telephone numbers. Indespensible!
James Turrell: The Art of Light and Space, Craig Adcock
Large format book on this landscapey, cosmic artist, whose Roden Crater project has already consumed a MacArthur grant, and threatens to consume him too.
Storms Above the Desert: Atmospheric Research in New Mexico, Joe Chew
A book about the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, a unique facility that specializes in thunderstorm and lightning research. Also covers the thirty years of pioneering atmospheric research in the state that preceeded the foundation of the Lab.
Wolfsburg, James Welling
A book of black and white photographs of the German town of Wolfsburg, a factory town with a Volkswagen plant that employs 52,000 people. Welling's grey images juxtapose interior, industial forms, with the exteriors of residential structures. A haunting book.
Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory, Lucy R. Lippard
Examination of the similar aspects of these forms, which include many examples of modern and ancient earth art such as mound-building and monolithic construction, and rituals related to seasonal variations.