In March 2000, Joel Sternfeld began photographing the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway which runs down the West Side of Manhattan. Sometimes a river of grass, sometimes more like Canadian wheat fields, this unique ruin permitted Sternfeld to contemplate nature within the city. Walking the path of this true-time landscape, Sternfeld experienced the seasons as they unfolded in a meandering ribbon within the vertical architecture of New York City, and he created a suite of images marked by quiet grace and formal rigour. Walking the High Line played a pivotal role in the struggle to preserve the High Line. In 2009 the High Line Park opened to overwhelming public interest and delight. The process of its transformation is also documented in this book in a timeline that traces from the historical pre-High- Line days to the present. Sternfeld's book is thus a unique record of the High Line at a time when it faced demolition, and this reprint follows several sold-out editions.

A major figure in the photography world, Joel Sternfeld was born in New York City in 1944. He has received numerous awards including two Guggenheim fellowships, a Prix de Rome and the Citibank Photography Award. Sternfeld's books published by Steidl include American Prospects (2003), Sweet Earth (2006), Oxbow Archive (2008) and First Pictures (2011).