Abandoned Castles

Abandoned Castles is a pictorial collection of hundreds of abandoned and ruined castles located all over the world. Released in 2017 by Amber Books, it's 224 pages and available in hardcover format.

This is a beautifully presented collection of fortification/castle ruins in locations from Asia to Europe, Africa to the Americas. The photographs are accompanied by a very brief sidebar explanatory blurb with some history and context tidbits. I found quite a lot of good info for further reading. The pictorial subjects are arranged roughly chronologically from ancient times to the dark ages,  early medieval, late medieval, early modern, and imperial eras.

There is no index or full subject table of contents; it's more a book for flipping through.

This would be a superlative choice for lovers of history or the subject matter (castles and fortifications). There's something so compelling about what was originally a dominant permanent building/settlement being turned into ruins by abandonment or catastrophe and the passage of time.

Four stars. The lack of a subject list or index was a detraction. For readers who want a beautiful coffee table book, this would be a 5 star selection.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.