The book: Verlassene Orte / Abandoned Berlin

Filed 27/2/2015 | Updated 16/3/2015

I’m happy to announce that I can now take orders for the book! Some astute readers noticed already and have even placed orders, though I won’t be able to ship any until Monday due to work commitments. (Those and many more have since been shipped.)

The good news for those living in Germany is that shipping is free! It’s my little present to you to refrain from using Amazon and instead contribute directly to the source.

Unfortunately, for those living abroad, there’s nothing I can do about Deutsche Post’s €6 charge for shipping. The book is fairly big – it won’t fit in your pocket if you want to bring it with you exploring – but it is under a kilo, or it would cost €12 to ship internationally.

I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t think it was true, but the book itself looks great! The publishers did a damn good job with the photos, the layout, and with the translations. There’s also just something about paper, holding something in your hands, as opposed to squinting at a screen.

It’s full-color, with texts in German and English side by side. There are 28 places with their stories featured. The swearing has been curtailed and directions to sites are not included. It would be pointless to include them anyway because they change all the time – this is one area where online has an advantage over print.

Anyway, that’s that, it’s out now. I’m not going to flog it shamelessly, beyond saying that proceeds from sales here will benefit the source and help ensure the work continues. I dream of a new camera but that’s a long way off...

For now I’ll just enjoy the giddy thrill of popping down to the post office with books in tow. Get ‘em while they’re hot! And before they’re banned – that Verboten tagline could yet come back to haunt me.

UPDATE: March 16, 2015 – Some were asking about bookshops. Apparently you can walk into ANY bookshop in Germany, order it, and they’ll have it there for you next day at no extra charge. Sounds too good to be true but I’m assured it is. Any good bookshop should have it. Of course, you can still order here online and support the author! ;)

If you’ve any questions or strange requests, fire an email or get in touch through the social media links.

Booksellers who want to stock the book should contact Michael Lüdicke through ‘m.luedicke at bebraverlag dot de’ at the publishers.