A Clearing In The Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the 19th Century

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Summary: An engrossing tale of Olmsted's life and work
Review: Witold Rybczynski tells the roundabout tale of how F.L. Olmsted Sr. became the dominant force in the nascent field of landscape architecture in the late 19th century. The cast of supporting characters reads as a who's who of 19th century American artists, from A.J. Downing to H.H. Richardson. All of Olmsted's major influences and landscape projects are chronicled, including great detail on Central Park, Boston's Emerald Necklace, and the Biltmore estate. After reading this book, I visited the Boston parks again and saw them for the first time as they were meant to be seen. [For more on the creation of Boston's Emerald Necklace, see Cynthia Zaitzevsky's "Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System," Belknap Pr;