Disappearing Glasgow by Chris Leslie

There’s something about a still image of something gone that’s truly haunting. Perhaps to do with the age we live in, where everything is fast-moving and fleeting, that something grounded can still have such a lasting effect. That’s what Chris Leslie brings to the table in Disappearing Glasgow.

Evoking the harrowing beauty of poetry and the narrative depth of prose, Leslie – please forgive the term – truly captures Glasgow. From the ground up, the keen eye of this acclaimed photographer and filmmaker details the nostalgic poverty that Glasgow is built on with an evident passion for the city. Some photos are included that could only have been taken through some pretty risky means.

Whether you're from Glasgow or not, the echoes of life ringing in this book make it possible to feel a sense of home, even in the images of rubble and devastation. These images will return to you long after you’ve first viewed them. For this reviewer, it’s the curling wallpaper that pulls back to reveal a mural of a stag in an abandoned tower block flat. For others, visual ghosts might rise from the images of a dilapidated bingo hall or the demolitions themselves.

Leslie finds a certain beauty in those demolitions and shows a city on its knees, looking upwards towards a now-blank skyline, waiting. [Rosie Barron]