"Graceful. . . . A brief, spacious and personal book of travels and meditation." -
The New York Times
"A grand tour. . . . Eclectic, learned." -
The New York Times Book Review
"Freshly provocative. . . . Meticulously well-observed and well-traveled. . . . A steady stream of ebullient erudition [and] an outpouring of melancholy grandeur." -
Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Nothing short of a masterpiece." -
Literary Review
"If the painstaking Simon Schama is memory's metaphysician, the late W. G. Sebald . . . is memory's poet and its conscience. . . . Among these giants, Woodward's elegant book has earned him an honored place." -
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Intriguing. . . . Woodward's enthusiasm for ruins is infectious. . . . . A fascinating tour." -
San Francisco Chronicle
"Brilliant, daring and evocative." -
The Guardian
"Absorbing. . . . Delightful. . . . Woodward does a terrific job of showing us the variety of ways artifacts have been interpreted and treated over the years. . . . In Woodward, [ruins] have an accomplished and eloquent spokesperson." -
The Providence Journal
"A handsomely written, constantly surprising meditation upon ruins . . . and the way they provide consolation in the face of so much human folly." -
Daily News (New York)
"An enchanting and informative voyage. . . . Fizzes with felicitous detail, anecdote, literary reference, and art history." -
Evening Standard "Beautifully written. . . . Contains astonishing facts, interesting digressions, alluring illustrations and tantalizing references. . . . An entertaining, even an endearing work." -
Winston-Salem Journal
"Fetching. . . . Whimsical. . . . Woodward's enthusiasms are catching." -
The New York Observer
"A thought-provoking grand tour of familiar-and lesser-known-stops along the . . . archaeological trail." -
Archaeology
"Nothing less than a guided tour of the world's most celebrated ruins as well as a short history of the human intellect as it has contemplated these ruins." -
The Tennessean
"Rich, allusive, learned, delightful. . . . Not a breath of pretension emanates from this engaging, illuminating volume." -
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Masterful. . . . Well-illustrated. . . . Constantly entertaining." -
The Times (Trenton, NJ)
"A thoughtful book. . . . After reading it, no building will seem safe from time's depredations." -
Conde Nast Traveller
Elegant little gem of a book which explores and magically illustrates our eternal fascination with ruins. (2000-12-11)