Beautiful yet haunting photographs of abandoned places in America – once thriving buildings now ravaged by nature and time are the subject of this fascinating, coffee table photo book.

Throughout the ages, mankind has been fascinated with the ruins of previous societies. The desire to gain a greater understanding of our past has driven archaeologists, artists and scholars across the world to study the vestiges of lifestyles that have vanished in an attempt to capture their mystique and beauty.

Originally intended as an examination of the rise and fall of the state hospital system, Matthew Christopher's Abandoned America rapidly grew to encompass derelict factories and industrial sites, schools, churches, power plants, hospitals, prisons, military installations, hotels, resorts, homes, and more. Through his collection of writing and photography, Matthew has spent the last decade documenting the ruins of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known: our own. Exploring sites like the charred remains of the Hotel Do De, the rusted cells of the Essex County Jail Annex, the sublime majesty of the Church of the Transfiguration, or the eerie and dilapidated remnants of the New Castle Elks Lodge, Christopher's work spans architectural treasures left to the elements and then all too often lost forever.