The Aesthetics of Ruins (Value Inquiry, 159)

This book constructs a theory of ruins that celebrates their vitality and unity in aesthetic experience. Its argument draws upon over 100 illustrations prepared in 40 countries. Ruins flourish as matter, form, function, incongruity, site, and symbol. Ruin underlies cultural values in cinema, literature, and philosophy. Finally, ruin guides meditations upon our mortality and endangered world.