Above Chicago

'Above Chicago' by aerial photographer Robert Cameron is an example of my very favorite type of souvenir to buy when I was visiting a new city, generally on business. There is simply nothing quite as evocative as this truly amazing selection of photographs of an eminantly photogenic city. I have seen similar efforts done, for example, by David King Gleason on Boston. And, while Boston is easily as interesting a subject as Chicago, Mr. Gleason doesn't seem to carry it off quite as well. I do miss the bit of local color added to volumes on London (Alistair Cook) and San Francisco (Herb Caen), but the star of the show is the quality and expert selection of photographs.

This was the first Robert Cameron book I purchased and has always been one of my favorites. I think the photos in this book are just amazing and they are so vivid and captivating. Chicago is such a beautiful city and from the air you understand what great civic planning can do for a city. Cameron hits all the most important areas and does not miss anything; from Oak Park to Lake Forest, for Aurora to the Miracle Mile, it's all here. This is one of his best books and he does Chicago proud. I recommend this book as I do all of his wonderful books, if you love great photography you will have to have them all, but this is a great place to start.

This book is just wonderful. If you love Chicago, it shows everything. I love how they have old photos next to the modern ones to see the comparisons. This is truly the best book for any Chicago collection.

This book just confirms how beautiful this city really is! Architecturally pleasing to the eye, laid out wonderfully, this book shows us aspects of buildings we may never see again. I do not believe commercial planes fly down close enought over the city to enjoy the buildings, so one may never get a chance to view this city's splendor. The layout of the book is facsinating, with old and new pictures side by side. I especially enjoyed picking out which buildings are still standing and are here to stay!!!

I looked at this book in a bookstore a couple times before I decided that I wanted to buy it. It's a great book--it covers Chicago well, both in pictures and in text. The text is at times funny, at times sad, but always enlightening. I talked my wife into letting me buy this book, even though most coffee table books like this usually end up collecting dust. Not true with this one!