Look Up Glasgow Hardcover – Illustrated, 7 Oct. 2013

I've lived in or near Glasgow for well over 70 years. Always, like anyone who knows the city well and loves much of what he knows, I've been aware that its vast heritage of handsome Victorian buildings, including many before and after, represents one of the world's most visually impressive cityscapes. But in cities, we hurry and bustle, looking to our next urgent destinations, rarely pausing to let the cityscape snatch our breath away with form, proportion, elegance and, frequently, sheer virtuosity. What Adrian Searle and David Barbour do is to stop us in our tracks and make us look up and observe with a precise beauty and sharpness the sculptural detail that adorns so many of these buildings. They make me go back to many familiar buildings and see them for the first time. They present a stunning tour de force of the "statues, gargoyles and ornament on the walls and roofs of its grand buildings…[and] the city's residents seemed oblivious to their existence".The photography is sublime (not a word I ever thought I would put in print), precise, evocative, and perfectly lit. It is a wonder that this has been achieved with subjects that are extremely inaccessible. But, further, the images are embellished by a selection of poems that add their commentary to the theme, perhaps especially Look Up Glasgow! by Colin Begg that takes no prisoners in its acid commentary on the merchants who patronised these wonderful architects and sculptorsI love just leafing through this volume in idle moments, picking up snippets wherever the page falls open, but it is organised in seven district covering all parts of the city containing notable sculpture, so it can be used to track down buildings district by district, and each site is accompanied by beautifully written very short notes that tell the reader why the authors thought merited inclusion. So it is a very sensible book, modern and precision built, but overall I just find it a fantastic delight.

I was a little disappointed that the name of the building was not under the photograph of the carving/gargoile etc., and not even on the same page,and that I had to go to the end of the chapter or district to get the number of the photograph and try to match it to the description. Too much like hard work! This spoiled my enjoyment of discovering some unknown architectural delights.

Disjointed electronic version where the info about each image is listed at the end of the chapter. A few of the reference numbers are missing, its not hard to work out but they should be there. Images are small on the electronic version i would have expected better for the cost. Personally disappointed i wanted the image with the info and this isnt delivered in the kindle version. Wasted my money.

Great book, if only people and visitors to Glasgow would stop looking at their boots and look up they would see the fascinating and rich historical architecture Glasgow has. Would have preferred the details of the images on the page, rather than to look up the index at the back of each area of section. The book is neatly divided into areas of the city so a walking tour/ reference can be made whist walking in these areas. Recommended coffee table book.

Great little book that gives you a great insight into Glasgow a truly making city with dozens of architectural gems steeped in history , no wonder this is the best city break in the world.The larger edition is great but won't fit in your pocket , don't eat at Greggs find somewhere local that sells square or links pronounced skwerr ! And you won't go far wrong.

Photographs are super but I would have preferred the information on each photo on the same page. You have to scroll to the end of the book to find out where these architectural gems are found in the city.

Fascinating reading and highlighted how much beauty Glasgow offers when you start to look for it.

There are lots of photographs with a bit of commentary on each one. Not as much text as I thought but an informative book. I enjoyed it.