Lost Plantations of the South,   ISBN:9781578069422

Customer Rating: 

Prepare to be shocked. This book and the lost houses it records are hauntingly beautiful. The effect of the presentation is both blissful and profoundly saddening.

I usually avoid books like this because they upset me. I hate being shown what we could have had, with more care, more insight, more money, more intelligence. This book upsets me as well, but that's what it's intended to do.

The quality of the work--the photography, graphics and writing--is top shelf. This is no haphazardly assembled set of archives: It's a beautifully rendered contemplation on the history and fate of stolen art.

The book is intended for any interested reader, but its style is not casual. Neither a photo essay nor a "coffee table" book, the author gives the work intentional academic gravity that could put off a casual reader, but will make architectural historians rejoice.

Customer Rating: 

As a fan of historical architecture I love reading about old houses. This was a very good book, with lots a facts about different plantations. My only complaint would have been a little less facts, and a little more human interest(about the people who lived there) and maybe more pictures of the homes. Every old home has a story, it just has to be told. :)

Customer Rating: 

This book is a wonderful record of the once magnificent edifices that have been lost through the years. It is a great work to preserve at least what is known and remains of these architectural treasures. Clearly it is not definitive, nor was is likely intended to be. As a fellow architectural researcher, I know that it is difficult to obtain materials that are suitable for publication showing every single worthy structure. However, what is included here shows information and illustrations that have not been widely published heretofore. I love this book. It is beautifully designed and is a welcome addition to my library which is already chock a block with volumes on this subject.

Customer Rating: 

This is an outstanding book. It is both stunningly beautiful and exceptionally well researched and written. The rare photographs are haunting and absolutely breathtaking. But unlike many books in this genre, there is a substantial amount of real history to go behind the beautiful pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the plantation families and the slaves who lived on these estates. I relished the tales of Lucy Holcombe Pickens whose jaunts to Russia brought her much favor with the Czar and Cazrina, and Choctaw Chief Greenwood LeFleur who built a most impressive mansion called Malmaison. The tragic and hilarious history of Goat Castle and its insane inhabitants was wonderful, as were all of the other narratives. Dr. Marc Matrana does a great job of covering the history of lost plantations in every Southern state and provides strong and fresh ideas about preservation that can be utilized today. I hope this author will keep his great books coming!

Customer Rating: 

I had high hopes when I heard of this tome. As someone interested in Southern Architecture, the long overdue creation and publication of a book on the lost plantations of the South met my ears with interest. I am not completely disappointed in Marc Matrana's work; it is simply too brief and uneven in coverage, often lacking in illustrations. While Texas has eight plantations in the book, Alabama has only three represented. Arkansas, although not well established in the antebellum plantation economy, just has three plantations listed with nary an illustration. Tennessee and Kentucky contain merely one plantation apiece. I realize that there can never be a comprehensive history of all the lost plantations in the South; however, more research could have doubled the number of houses found in those states. Matrana possibly knows the brevity of his book; he included a large bibliography at the conclusion of the book and suggested reading lists in the chapters. There is also a note to the reader alluding to the fact that this is not a definitive book on the subject. This is a good overview on the subject and is still a worthwhile purchase.