Compiled of a collection of breathtaking photography from around the world, accompanied by informative paragraphs. This coffee table book is perfect for satisfying your taste for adventure transporting you to places you may otherwise have never known existed.
I read this as a prerelease and I have no doubt I’ll read it again as a physical copy to truly appreciate the quality of the photographs.

A really nice photography book. like other books that were published before this, it is photo-based with some captions along with the photo. Really nice collection of different parts of the world.

I really enjoyed reading and looking at this book. The book is filled with haunting photographs of abandoned places. The photographs are the real stars but there is some text. I was not familiar with many of these place so I learned a lot The book is organized by regions. Enjoy the armchair travel.

This was a fascinating read, there was a good variety of locations in different parts of the world. They had different reasons for becoming abandoned too, so it was very interesting contrast.
I had previously heard of some of the locations, but most of them were unknown to me.
The photographs were of a high quality and there were a lot of them. The accompanying text was well written and concise.
This was an interesting book and I would definitely recommend it.

This is a fascinating book. It is just unbelievable how and why these places are left abandoned. This book is packed full of photos showing how these islands have been left with decaying buildings. This book covers plenty of islands across the world with short explanations. Explaining what they were used for and why they was abandoned. It actually makes you wish you could live there and wonder why someone hasn't snapped them up themselves to try and live a secluded life. This would makes a great book for those that love to imagine living on there own paradise. Also for those who love to own those interesting coffee table books to wind the hours away. Or to create a great talking points. I would of liked to see headers before each set of pictures as sometimes I was a little confused as to when each islands pictures ended and the next started. It also would of been great to read more of a history of the island before the pictures to let my imagination run wild. I believe that carful cropping of pictures would allow for more information about each area as I just lovedlearning about new places. I just found this book very interesting to read. Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing together these fascinating photographs and information to allow our minds to run wild.
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/abandoned-islands-by-claudia-martin-amber-books-3-stars either under my name or ladyreading365 or lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Amazing pictures of islands that have been abandoned by people, probably better for the wildlife. I hope they stay that way.

Abandoned Islands is a photographic tour of some iconic abandoned and uninhabited islands, written and curated by travel author Claudia Martin. Due out 10th May 2022 from Amber Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This book was a wonderful surprise for me. I was expecting photographs of wild and overgrown places but there was so much more. The book is filled with beautiful photography and lovely background descriptions. They are all island locations both large and small. Each of the entries contains one or more colour photos as well as interesting tidbits of background history. There were only a few with which I was previously familiar, Pollepel Island for example, which was for sale to the public not too long ago.

There is such a richness to this book. The islands which are included are arranged in the book grouped geographically: North & South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia & the Pacific. The photography is rich and varied. The scenery is beautiful. I can certainly see this book becoming a display/coffee table book for the photography, but the is also captivating.

Lovely. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, for fans of travel writing, and for readers who enjoy beautiful books for display.

Four stars (and it fills me with wanderlust to go visit some of these places).

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

Both fascinating and incredibly sad. The history of some of these places broke my heart. Others had me ready to pack my bags and my books. Surely the weather isn’t too bad in Sweden right?

The pictures are beautiful. Some of the buildings shown look as though people just walked out the door one day. This book was so incredible.

Absolutely fascinating! This book is a world-wide exploration of previously inhabited islands that were abandoned due to a wide variety of factors, including war, natural disaster, disease, climate, and simply the challenges of living so disconnected from the rest of society. Some were abandoned thousand of years ago. Some just recently. Nature has reclaimed a lot, but the evidence of human impact stubbornly refuses to be erased entirely.

The photography is just gorgeous, with many full-page shots as well as close-ups of details. The accompanying text is short but clear and interesting. This would make an awesome coffee table book and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy looking through it.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Abandoned Islands is a coffee table book of aerial and on-site photographs of islands all over the world that were previously inhabited. There are some interesting facts about the history of each island and of the locations photographed.

i love an island, i really do. I got to live on a Scottish island once for a season and it was amazing. i also spent a weekend in Maria Island, off the coast of Tassie, which is sort of abandoned. No one lives there, and only capers and rangers visit. Stunning. which is to say, i love the idea of abandoned islands. this book does not disappoint. It has enough information about each island to provide context, but it's really about the pictures. It made me dream about faraway places, and the people who lived there, and the people who left. It's a wonderful book. it is a wonderful ebook and would be even better as a printed book to leaf through.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this free review copy.

I requested this book on NetGalley primarily for the pictures, and it absolutely met my expectations. Brilliantly photographed, with just enough text to whet the appetite; every reader has their own points of interest and things they'd like more information on, and thanks to the internet, we can do just that. An author can't make everyone happy at all at once, after all (drat! :D). So, this is a great kick-starter, in addition to coffee-table and armchair-travel read.

I'm always curious what gets picked and why, and would love more insight on that front. North America and Europe get a heavier focus here, compared to the Middle East/Africa and Asia/the Pacific. Maybe it just goes back to "an author can't make everyone happy" (obviously I should take my own advice!). We are all drawn to different things; I also imagine that accessibility--whether logistical or legal--also plays a role.

As other reviewers have noted, "abandoned" also proves to be a bit of a loose term in this read. But, if used simply as "people don't make a practice of living here anymore, if at all," we're good! LOL!

This is one read I'd gladly revisit. Martin puts her experience as a travel writer to good use.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The history of each abandoned island is fascinating. Beljanek, Croatia is my favorite photograph.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review

There are abandoned islands in all parts of the world. Claudia Martin's coffee table book includes four sections: North and South America, Europe, The Middle East, and Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Some islands may be familiar like Alcatraz but most are long forgotten.

Many of these abandoned islands housed prisons, leper colonies, immigration, inspection stations, and quarantine hospitals. Others became abandoned when the small number of inhabitants and the resources to support them seemed less attractive than life on the mainlands.

Each island has a brief description which includes what they were used for and the dates when they were abandoned. A variety of beautiful photographs (160), although some seem of a uneven quality, imply the hardships of isolated living.

A sampling of what caught my eye starts with North Brother Island in New York's East River. From 1885 to 1945 it was the site of Riverside Hospital for people who needed to be quarantined. 'Typhoid Mary' whose real name was Mary Mallon was forced to live there for 23 years.

Bunce, Sierra Leone was a base for European slave traders. England's Royal Africa Company even built a castle there around 1670.

Volcanic Crocodile Island in Kenya is in the center of a lake. And, yes, there are Crocodiles.

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands was forced to relocate 167 islanders to the United States so 23 nuclear devices could be detonated there between 1946 and 1958.

"Abandoned Islands" is certainly an inspiration for those who want to travel to lesser known places or maybe just research them on the Internet. Not only a coffee table book, this handsome volume would make a lovely gift.

Thank you to NetGalley / Amber Books Ltd, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of, Abandoned Islands, by Claudia Martin. I really enjoyed learning and seeing abandoned island from all over the world.

4.5 stars. This book is a beautiful coffee table book featuring abandoned islands from around the world. The full color photographs vary from showing aerial views to images of the abandoned structures, but all are very beautiful. I was mostly expecting this to feature tropical islands, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide variety of climates. In many instances the islands serve as a reminder that nature is fierce and not everywhere is inhabitable. The book is organized by geographic region and each photo has a brief description. I do wish many of the descriptions had been longer or gave some sort of hint as to whether the islands are still accessible. This book is definitely worth flipping through.

The pictures were lovely but I felt the book needed more information instead of just a caption. I was expecting more stories on each location.

Another beautiful coffee table book from Amber books. This is full of their signature stunning photographs of islands across the world, divided by continent. Many have been inhabited at some point and these with their crumbling buildings are the most haunting for me . There are familiar islands, such as Alcatraz and many I had never heard of. It was fascinating to see photographs of the island of Spinalonga - the former leper colony immortalised by Victoria Hislop. Also making an appearance is the castle and Island used in the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A fascinating book to dip into, to feel lost in strangely peaceful environs and as always with just the right amount of information given about each location My thanks to Amber Books and Netgalley for allowing me early access to and ARC of this book.

Great pictures, good explanations, a lot of places I would like to visit.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Fascinating photographic record of islands, throughout the world, which have been abandoned - it could be because of disease, better living conditions elsewhere, the natural resources have gone. Each destination is well-captioned with explanations of what happened, and why.

Recommended for people fascinated by the world we live in. However, it is probably better as a book, than as an e-book.


With thanks to NetGalley and Amber Books for an ARC.