Iwanami-Shoten

When visiting friends in Japan in 2004, I found two books on Kowloon Walled City, one of my favorite places to learn and write about, though obviously a place whose negative connotations have been glossed over in its recently resurgent popularity. Both of the books I found are in Japanese, this one included, but that's fine since both of them focus more on visuals than text. While the other book includes b/w photos, this one uses drawings and photomontages to convey the physical complexity and human lives of the place. The large, fold-out building sections are the main reason to plunk down money on this book; even with big scans showing up online the sections are best appreciated in all their detail in this large-format, atlas-sized book. In addition to the building sections, there are elevations, plans, and many photographs documenting Kowloon Walled City before and after its demolition.… (mehr)