Kieron Connolly’s new book of photographs of more than 100 once-busy and often elegant buildings gives an idea of how the world might look if humankind disappeared. Here: Bodie, Mono County, California. Gold was discovered at Bodie in 1859 (just after the initial California gold rush) and it went from mining camp to boomtown. Its decline began in 1880, when word spread of new boomtowns elsewhere. The Standard Consolidated Mine closed in 1913, and four years later the Bodie Railway was abandoned. By 1940 the population was down to 40. Today, Bodie is maintained in a state of arrested decay as a visitor attraction. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

A Iranian man walks with a sheep he bought at a market in the capital Tehran on September 12, 2016, as Muslims mark the first day of the Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday. Muslims across the world celebrate the annual festival of Eid al-Adha, or the festival of sacrifice, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorates prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to God. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

An Afghan teacher, in brown, helps school children run from the site of clashes near the Pakistan consulate in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, January 13, 2016. Several members of the Afghan security forces were killed Wednesday after unidentified gunmen attacked the Pakistani consulate in a volatile eastern province, an official said on Wednesday. (Photo by Mohammad Anwar Danishyar/AP Photos)

Dressed up as Punxsutawney Phil, Marty Nagy, of Hallandale Beach, Fla., gives thumbs up to passers by before the start of the 12th annual Groundhog Day on Hollywood Beach, Tuesday, February 2, 2016, in Hollywood, Fla. The event, which featured breakfast and an ocean plunge, benefited the Hollywood Beach Lifeguard Competition Team. (Photo by Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo)

In this Friday, February 5, 2016 picture, Egyptian farmer Ahmed Ayman, 14, rides his trained donkey as he jumps over a barrier in the Nile Delta village of Al-Arid about 150 kilometers north of Cairo, Egypt. He discovered the donkey's talent after she jumped over a small irrigation canal. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)

A portrait of late communist leader Mao Zedong is seen behind two hostesses as they pose for a picture at the Tiananmen Square during the 3nd plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 13, 2016. China's Communist-controlled parliament opened its annual session on March 5 and is expected to appove a new five-year plan to tackle slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A man takes a selfie next to a flooded street due to the overflowing of the Mapocho river during heavy rains in Santiago on April 17, 2016. Four million people in Santiago were without tap water Sunday after unusually heavy rain pounding central Chile triggered landslides that fouled the city's water supply and forced the closure of the world's biggest copper mine, officials said. (Photo by Martin Bernetti/AFP Photo)

An Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) member screams during a battle against Islamic State group jihadists (IS) in Mosul's al-Rifaq neighbourhood on January 8, 2017, as an ongoing military operation against the militants continues. Elite Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul reached the Tigris River that splits the city in two for the first time, a spokesman said. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)