James Crawford’s Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of History’s Greatest Buildings delves into the biographies of 21 of the world’s most fascinating lost and ruined buildings, from the dawn of civilization to the cyber era. A unique guide to a world of vanished architecture, the book profiles such iconic structures as the Tower of Babel, the Bastille, and the Berlin Wall, illustrating how the lives of these structures represent the love and betrayal, catastrophe and hope, of each time period. Crawford uses the historical context of war, religion, politics, and art as a backdrop; their stories provide the stage for a rich array of characters ranging from Gilgamesh to Agamemnon, and Catherine the Great to Adolf Hitler. Author Alexander McCall Smith praised it as “a lovely, wise book.”
Crawford works for Scotland’s National Collection of architecture and archaeology, and has previously written a number of photographic books, including Above Scotland: The National Collection of Aerial Photography, Victorian Scotland, Scotland’s Landscapes, and Aerofilms: A History of Britain from Above. In 2013, he wrote and acted as design consultant on Telling Scotland’s Story, a graphic novel guide to Scottish archaeology.
“Magnificent. . . . Many of these buildings can be seen as microcosms of the decline and fall of whole civilizations.” —Daily Telegraph (5 Star Review, UK)