"It may be that the developers, residents, and corporate owners of the new American village have gotten exactly what they want. Like all such rare complete triumphs, the victors are left to consider not the limits of their effort but the quality of their original vision." -- Bob Thall Since 1971, Bob Thall has made photographs that examine and interpret Chicago's urban landscape. His highly praised 1994 book, The Perfect City, documented the sweeping changes in the character of the downtown area from 1971 to 1991. Now, ...
Read More
"It may be that the developers, residents, and corporate owners of the new American village have gotten exactly what they want. Like all such rare complete triumphs, the victors are left to consider not the limits of their effort but the quality of their original vision." -- Bob Thall Since 1971, Bob Thall has made photographs that examine and interpret Chicago's urban landscape. His highly praised 1994 book, The Perfect City, documented the sweeping changes in the character of the downtown area from 1971 to 1991. Now, continuing his extensive project to photograph the Chicago metropolitan area, Thall presents a complete picture of the nationally known area around Schaumburg and O'Hare International Airport -- significant as perhaps the best example of a new type of American suburb, the "edge city." In The New American Village, Thall captures four components of the new edge city -- corporate, commercial, domestic, and environmental -- in a way that no previous photographer has achieved. To find the stark but provocatively beautiful images that appear in the book, Thall spent years exploring the western and northwestern suburbs of Chicago, photographing remnants of open land and farm structures, the process of clearing and construction, corporate headquarters, townhouse developments, model homes, office parks, strip malls, and the many aspects of nature that remain, in one way or another, in these miniature cities. Thall's photographs are not simply snapshots of raw visual facts but images full of meaning. Documenting these new American places, he draws attention to the choices being made when they are built and discovers some unexpected transformations. In an industrial park built where once there were only huge, flat fields of corn, Thall is surprised to find innumerable small lakes and ponds created by developers for flood control. While timing exposures at dusk, he recalls, geese flew so close overhead that he could feel the beat of their wings. But along with such oddly pastoral scenes, Thall finds much that is emotionally chilling. His photographs show a landscape with no pedestrian life, no old trees, and little diversity in architecture or people. "Everything, for hundreds of square miles, looked much the same to me," he writes, "the cheap standardized construction, the ceaseless flow of cars, the acres of blacktop and concrete, and the unwalkable distances across open, flat land." Always thoughtful, often striking or strangely beautiful, Thall's remarkable images capture a vast suburban world where, in ever increasing numbers, Americans are choosing to spend their lives.
Read Less
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $2.95, good condition, Sold by Project HOME rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Shelf wear, sticker on front cover Paperback Used-Good 1999 F First Edition All purchases support Project HOME-ending homelessness in Philadelphia.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $4.00, good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $7.50, like new condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $7.50, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $7.75, new condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $10.72, fair condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University Pre.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have condition issues including wear and notes/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $10.78, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University Pre.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The New American Village to cart. $12.50, very good condition, Sold by Cape Cod Booksellers rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from SOUTH YARMOUTH, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine. No Jacket. 4to-over 9¾"-12" tall. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, oblong 4to, 96 pages. Softcover edition, numerous photos, book near fine.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $12.94, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University Pre.
Add this copy of The New American Village (Creating the North American to cart. $16.50, like new condition, Sold by Daedalus Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
