Product Description

This volume presents a history of the ways in which human beings have shaped the landscape at cult sites, in cities and on great private estates, from prehistoric times to the present, throughout the world. The book considers what the evolution of the design of the landscape reveals about the development of society and culture, examining famous cities, palaces and parks, as well as lesser-known designed landscapes, and even sites now vanished from around the world. Illustrated with hundreds of phtographs, drawings and plans, the book leads the reader through ancient cities, palatial gardens and magnificent sanctuaries. Also covered are: the royal cemeteries of ancient Egypt; the superb temples of ancient Greece and Rome; the magnificent gardens of Renaissance and Baroque Europe and the Far East; the great public parks of the late 19th century; and some of the most exciting avant-garde gardens and earth works of the present day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123849 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .5 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, former administrator of New York City's Central Park (The Forests and Wetlands of New York City), begins Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History with stone circles and ziggurats, and traces design's evolution through to today's suburbs and theme parks. An encyclopedic account of man-made landscapes around the world illustrated with a stunning 633 photos and drawings, more than half in color, the book reveals a 1720 English turf ampitheater, the "Tea, Moss and Stones" (as one chapter is titled) of Japanese gardens, the grand genius of Versailles designer Andr‚ Le N“tre, as well as today's "Earthworks, Golf Courses, Philosophical Models, and Poetic Metaphors." It's an accessible and elegant respite.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Perhaps best known as the founding director of New York's Central Park Conservancy, which oversaw and funded the park's revitalization, Rogers (The Forests and Wetlands of New York City) here presents a comprehensive survey of landscape design. Viewing her subject as the art that modifies and shapes nature, she explores the cultural values that shape, or are embodied in, cities, parks, and gardens. Embracing all cultures and ranging from prehistoric times to the present, this book covers the broadest range of subjects implied by the title, including city planning, landscape architecture, conservation, earthworks, and other uses of land in contemporary art. While this history is international in scope, it does narrow its primary focus to the United States when it reaches the late 20th century. The photographs and especially the plans are excellent and numerous. Single pages or double-page spreads devoted to specific topics add an encyclopedic element while allowing Rogers to provide even more information, illustrations, and plans without interrupting the flow of her very readable text. Accessible to lay readers but of interest to scholars, this book could serve as the text for a comprehensive course on the history of landscape design. Highly recommended. Daniel Starr, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
To prepare for her post as the first administrator of New York's Central Park, distinguished art historian, expert city planner, and author Rogers sought to master the context in which the park was built and designed by taking an interdisciplinary approach to landscape architecture's historical importance, cultural influence, and societal impact. The result is her magnum opus, an eloquent, erudite, and enjoyable treatment of a discipline that heretofore concentrated on technical methodologies while eschewing the philosophical deliberations that guide it. By tracing the global development of man's relationship to the land from cave dwellers to urban developers, Rogers' anthropological orientation examines diverse ancient to contemporary landscapes in microscopic detail, revealing how, as mankind inherently strives to control nature through landscape design, the results inevitably reflect the prevailing cultural milieu. Scrupulously researched, meticulously presented, Rogers' towering achievement synthesizes the history of human culture with that of landscape design, culminating in a wondrous journey across time and place that will appeal to readers with a wide range of historical, aesthetic, gardening, and travel interests. Carol Haggas
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