City of Darkness - Life In Kowloon City | 
 enlarge | Creators: Ian Lambot, Greg Girard
Publisher: Watermark
Category: Book
Buy New: $85.00
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 328171
Media: Paperback
Pages: 216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 10.6 x 10.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 1873200137
EAN: 9781873200131
ASIN: 1873200137
Publication Date: June 6, 1999
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Girard and Lambot spent four years exploring the notorious Walled City of Kowloon (Hong Kong), before it's final clearance in 1992. With over 320 photographs, 32 extended interviews, and essays on the City's history and character, this reprint is not only an informative glimpse of a now vanished landmark but a sensitive and penetrating portrait of a unique community.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Wow November 17, 2008
It truly is sad this city no longer exists. It served an important purpose and may well have had a more important community feel than NYC or other cities that are just as "dark". The photographic essay Greg Girard did seems to capture all aspects of this super-condensed city.
 Content 5 stars; binding zero stars September 8, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I hate to do this, but other buyers should be aware: I have the July 2005 printing (paperback; the only one available from Amazon) and it has the absolute cheapest, flimsiest glue binding I have ever seen on a book. The cover became detached before I was done looking through it the first time, and now that I have looked through it exactly once, the page sections are starting to fall away from the remaining glue strip. And I am being very careful with it. What a disappointment as the photos are stunning, the text and interviews fascinating, and the quality of the photo pages themselves excellent.
Mindblowing story and amazing pictures. July 5, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book tells a story of a place most people have never heard of and no longer exists, but was the most densely populated place in the entire world at one point. It does it by well-written text, interviews with people that lived in this one-of-a-kind place, and priceless pictures. Google "The walled city of Kowloon", read up on it, and you won't be able to resist getting this book.
important book March 19, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
the book offers great insight in the extreme circumstances under which people lived in the kowloon walled city. superb photografic material covering a wide aspect of the city and relevant text. a must for people interested in urban vernacular architecture.
One of the best books I've ever seen! March 4, 2006
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Everyone who I have ever shown this book to has had a deep reaction to it. I wouldn't handicap this book by calling it a photography book alone, although the photos are very powerful and prominent, but the text deserves recognition aswell. Plenty of personal stories of how people made this decaying city their home. Both epic and intimate. A testament of the human animal's ability to adapt and thrive. Thank god the authors got in to Kowloon before its destruction to create this book.
Also, as a side note: Any artist wanting reference material for decaying urban sprawl, look no further. This book makes for great city or science fiction reference, with unbelievable details (electrical boxes, pipes, hallways, stairwells, etc...)
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