From Pripyat in Ukraine to Bodie in California to English villages requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence during World War II, from Greek leper colonies to deserted Italian mountain villages, Abandoned Towns is a brilliant pictorial work examining lost worlds. With reasons ranging from the collapse of local industry to being pushed aside to make way for a new industry, from earthquakes and volcanoes to man-made chemical spills, from war zones to demilitarized zones, the book explores a wide range of desolate urban environments from around the globe.