Waiting for the End of the World by Richard Ross (21-Apr-2004) Paperback

by Richard Ross

Where will you go when the trouble starts? For countless people around the world, the answer is that bomb shelter down in the basement. In fact, people from around the world have been building shelters to protect themselves from catastrophe—natural disaster, war, nuclear events—for centuries. Waiting for the End of the World is photographer Richard Ross's journey into this quirky, somewhat paranoid, and occasionally beautiful underground world. Ross has documented not only the bomb shelters of the United States, but also examples from Vietnam, Russia, England, Turkey, and even Switzerland, where citizens are required by law to have a bomb shelter.Ross's subjects include the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, where a shelter was built to house the entire U.S. Congress, shelters in Beijing, where the Chinese built a complete city underground, and Hittite shelters in Eastern Turkey built some 4,000 years ago. His ethereal images show spaces that at once provide only the barest necessities for survival but maintain a level of idiosyncratic personality that testify to the endurance—and wackiness—of the human spirit.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Architecture

Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of photographs of shelters from around the world, with a little bit of writing and introduction of each shelter. These people are ready for bombs, chemicals and nuclear blasts. There is also a delightful interview with the author by Sarah Vowell. My favorite quote from the interview was, "I think if there were a real nuclear exchange, the survivors would be Bush, Cheney, some Israelis, the Swiss, the Mormons, and assorted insects - a curious mixture." And Sarah Vowell talks about being more afraid of living to see the end times than dying in the end times. SV and the author also touch on like, bigger philosophical questions like what does it mean to spend your life preparing for the end of the world and what role does the end of the world play in various cultures, etc. but it's not a Big Philosophical Book. it's a photography book. and I learned about Swiss apocalypse preparedness! Which makes me want to be Swiss! Well, kind of. For the end of the world, at least.

My favorite page is 119, "Public Shelters, near Zurich, Switzerland, 2003." The government mandates the size and shape and construction material of the public shelters, but they can be customized by painting the doors different colors. The photo shows 4 giant gaping doors painted bright shades of green, pink, etc. It is like, perfect and beautiful. Their post-apocalypse will be technicolor.

Anyway, the book could be bigger. I say this every time I "read" a book that's mostly pictures, but the photos could be bigger. It could be a giant, glossy coffee table book, and I would love that. But the photographs are well-lit and well-printed. The subject matter is fascinating, and the writing is calm and authoritative enough to reassure you about the end of the world.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author's name is actually Richard Ross, not Koss

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great volume with lovely pictures and historical facts.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Ross is known for his photographs of temples and churches, but he decided to do a book of bomb shelters.

It's fascinating--most are forgotten and crumbling, some have become museums or clubs or squats, one is a data storage facility, and a few are still well-maintained.

Most interesting: Switzerland requires that there be shelters for 110 percent of the population. Also, a bunker for the U.S. House and Senate was disguised as a hotel called Greenbriar. The secret wasn't revealed until 1992.

Includes an interview by Sarah Vowell with the photographer.

[Brandon Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A birthday gift from Casey! This book collects photos of shelters from around the world and throughout history: from Hittite shelters built 4000 years ago in Turkey to the Cold War bunker hidden under a luxury West Virginia hotel and meant to hold all of Congress to the shelters still required to be built in every Swiss home. Small blurbs accompany the photos. It really gives you insight into the human urge for survival!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super rad pictures. Wish they were bigger...the book itself isn't very large and the photos are even still smaller. The introduction interview (with Sarah Vowell) is great. Such weird architectural achievements...typically seeing man made artifices in ruins is depressing, but in this case it means humanity has not yet been annihilated...so, yay?

[JBP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting photo book of bomb shelters around the world for folks convinced the end of the world is coming, usually in the form of nuclear apocalypse. I love this kind of doom and gloom. Very stark and simple photographs, my favorite kind.

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading historical accounts of the development of nuclear weapons, this is the other side. Most people came to believe the Mutual Assured Destruction strategy made bomb shelters unnecessary, but apparently not everyone got that message.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish the pictures were a bit larger & a few more of them. Overall interesting book though.

[F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would soooo love to have these under my house!!!