Olmsteds America: An Unpractical Man and His Vision of Civilization Hall, Lee

While Frederick Law Olmsted 18221903 stands among Americas great innovators, his story is one of both enormous achievement and miserable failure, of public acclaim and official derision Known as the Father of American Landscape Architecture, he is best recognized for his collaborative work with Calvert Vaux Together they designed and built some of the greatest parks and public spaces in America, including Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn Among Olmsteds numerous solo projects are Bostons Emerald Necklace, the grounds of the United States Capitol and the Washington Monument, and the extensive grounds at Biltmore, the Vanderbilt mansion in North CarolinaBut Olmsted was a restless individual who pursued a number of careers, among them scientific farmer, journalist, and commissioner of the Unions Sanitary Commission during the Civil War He was author of several books, director of the Mariposa gold mines in California, instrumental in the preservation of Yosemite and Niagara Falls and, by extension, the founding of the National Park Service and designer of Riverside, Illinois, the first planned suburb Perhaps his most significant legacy to Western civilization, however, stems from his ideas and plans concerning the importance of integrating everyday life with natureIn Olmsteds America, Lee Hall presents not just a biography per se but an examination of how Olmsteds particular ideas affected the United States during his time and the important significance these concepts hold for todays world, especially as they relate to nature and the environment ISBN10: 0821219987 ISBN13: 9780821219980Material Type: hardcover