A love letter to the province offering a window into the past through stunning photography. The stunning images found in Abandoned Alberta offer a window into our past, showing life as it was then, and stirring in us the emotions of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived. Joe Chowaniec started the Facebook page Abandoned Alberta in January 2017, which today has more than 26,000 members. Alberta is in Joe Chowaniec's blood, and you might say Abandoned Alberta is his love letter to the province. Where others may see only decay and rot in these long-forgotten locations, Chowaniec sees exquisite beauty.

Today, many of the historic coal-mining communities of the Rocky Mountains are uninhabited ghost towns. Yet behind the crumbled ruins are tales of perseverance, danger and romance. A devastating mine explosion on Halloween shatters the lives of mining families in Nordegg. The miners of Mountain Park build a hockey rink still celebrated in local lore. A young immigrant couple in Mercoal establishes a successful business only to have their love story sadly cut short. These 11 dramatic and poignant ghost-town tales are sure to fascinate all who love pioneer history.

Today, many of the historic coal-mining communities of the Rocky Mountains are uninhabited ghost towns. Yet behind the crumbled ruins are tales of perseverance, danger and romance. A devastating mine explosion on Halloween shatters the lives of mining families in Nordegg. The miners of Mountain Park build a hockey rink still celebrated in local lore. A young immigrant couple in Mercoal establishes a successful business only to have their love story sadly cut short. These 11 dramatic and poignant ghost-town tales are sure to fascinate all who love pioneer history.

Urban poverty, along with all of its poignant manifestations, is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America. Nowhere is this more evident than in East St. Louis, Illinois. Once a thriving manufacturing and transportation center, East St. Louis is now known for its unemployment, crime, and collapsing infrastructure. Abandoned in the Heartland takes us into the lives of East St. Louis’s predominantly African American residents to find out what has happened since industry abandoned the city, and jobs, quality schools, and city services disappeared, leaving people isolated and imperiled. Jennifer Hamer introduces men who search for meaning and opportunity in dead-end jobs, women who often take on caretaking responsibilities until well into old age, and parents who have the impossible task of protecting their children in this dangerous, and literally toxic, environment. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs showing how the city has changed over time, this book, full of stories of courage and fortitude, offers a powerful vision of the transformed circumstances of life in one American suburb.

George Webber's latest book of photography focuses on the vernacular architecture, abandoned townscapes and fading commercial signage from 1950s and 1960s rural Alberta. "The prairies are Webber's physical and spiritual home. Born and raised in Drumheller and now living in Calgary Webber has a palpable connection to the places he photographs. His interpretations are direct, sincere and invested with a sense of history and intimacy that imbues his photographs with a heightened, surreal sense of colour and ambiguity that moves them from the ordinary into the realm of the extraordinary. Haunting, touching, evocative and enigmatic, these images occupy a place somewhere between everywhere and nowhere." --Tobi Bruce, Curator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton The 200 colour photographs assembled in Webber's latest portfolio, Alberta Book, have been selected from an archive of work spanning nearly 40 years. In this collection viewers will find deteriorating signage that remains almost garishly bright; chrome details from vintage automobiles that still sparkle in the sun; forgotten buildings that have fallen into gentle disrepair; hand-painted window lettering that goes unread; and abandoned landscapes that echo with the whispers of residents long gone. Set against the bright blue Alberta sky or rolling clouds bursting with prairie thunder, these images glow with warm affection for the humble and reticent structures of Alberta's past. With narrative appreciations from award-winning Alberta writer Fred Stenson and acclaimed Alberta poet Rosemary Griebel, Alberta Book captures and preserves an important part of the province's visual heritage.

In Abandoned Alberta II, Joe Chowaniec continues his travels in Wild Rose country, uncovering yet even more hidden gems. These extraordinary images provide a window into the past, stirring in us the emotions of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived. Where others may see only decay and rot in these abandoned places, Chowaniec sees stunning beauty. From barns located in the rolling foothills of the Rocky Mountains to homesteads in the badlands around Drumheller, discover the rich history and untold stories of abandoned places. Visit the stone hall near Shandro, the ghost towns of southern Alberta, Ogilive Flour Mill in Medicine Hat and the Sunnyslope Sandstone Shelter near Three Hills, it is all here. This is a photographic journey that will take you from one corner of the province to the other. Come along for the ride. You will be glad you did.

This is the first documented discovery of a Moundbuilder/Temple Mound Culture settlement in Canada, 1000 km. from the Moundbuilder homeland. This is contrary to the accepted archaeological history of Alberta. To date 40 sites, including several village/ceremonial sites related to the Mississippian Temple Mound Culture, including major earthworks, have been found. This is a northern relation to the Cahokia Temple Mound city remains. An introduction to six of the major sites to date and an attempt to identify who these early farming people were, where they came from and where they went. Photos. 155 pg.

In 2002, Gee’s Bend burst into international prominence through the success of Tinwood’s Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition and book, which revealed an important and previously invisible art tradition from the African American South. Critics and popular audiences alike marveled at these quilts that combined the best of contemporary design with a deeply rooted ethnic heritage and compelling human stories about the women. Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt is a major book and museum exhibition that will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), in June 2006 before traveling to seven American museums through 2008. The book's 330 color illustrations and insightful text bring home the exciting experience to readers while displaying all the cultural heritage and craftsmanship that have gone into these remarkable quilts.