Books by Jeff Brouws
Jeff Brouws (B. 1955 San Francisco, California) has spent the last 35 years documenting the American cultural landscape, using his photography to explore the historical underpinnings of socioeconomic and political issues. He Is the author of seven books including Twentysix Abandoned Gasoline Stations (Gas-N-Go Publications, 1992), Approaching Nowhere (W.W. Norton, 2006) and Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project (MIT Press, 2026). Brouws’s photographs are in numerous public and private collections including Harvard’s Fogg Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He lives in Stanfordville, New York.
Interviews with Jeff Brouws
The best books on Industrial Artifact Photography, recommended by Jeff Brouws
Every era has its monuments. What architectural legacy has the Industrial Revolution left behind? Jeff Brouws is a photographer whose work explores the American cultural landscape through a typological lens. His latest book, Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project, documents concrete coaling towers that once fueled steam locomotives across North America. He talks us through five essential books on industrial photography—from the Bechers’ rigorous documentation to intimate portraits of displaced steelworkers—and explores what we preserve when structures themselves vanish.
Interviews where books by Jeff Brouws were recommended
-

1
Art Work: On the Creative Life
by Sally Mann -

2
Knife Woman: the Life of Louise Bourgeois
by Marie-Laure Bernadac -

3
Art in a State of Siege
by Joseph Leo Koerner -

4
Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa
by Kirsty Baker -

5
Nigerian Modernism
by Osei Bonsu -

6
The Joinery Compendium: Learning from Traditional Woodworking
by Daniel Pauli & Sascha Bauer
Beautiful Books of 2025, recommended by Romas Viesulas
Beautiful Books of 2025, recommended by Romas Viesulas
The art of bookmaking is alive and well. Which art, architecture, design and photography books have we added to our library in 2025? Romas Viesulas, art & architecture editor at Five Books, takes us through his personal choice of beautiful reference books to add visual and conceptual interest to any well-appointed bookshelf.











