No comments about Landscape and Sustainability.

No comments about From Streetcar to Superhighway: American City Planners and Urban Transportation, 1900-1940 (Technology and urban growth).

2 comments about Champion in a Man's World: The Biography of Marion Hollins.

1. Marion Hollins is by far one of the most accomplished persons in American history. Her story is motivating and incredible. For anyone who doubts their ability to succeed, this is a must read.



2. Marion Hollins' life story is an amazing series of accomplishments, crowned by her design work at Cypress Point and Pasatiempo Golf Clubs. This is a 'must read' for Central Coast people who want to learn more about how Marion's dedication and determination influenced the formation of Pebble Beach and Pasatiempo during the '20s and '30s. Her tragic ending at an early age leaves the reader wondering what more she could have accomplished had she lived a bit longer.

1 comments about Country Acres: Country Wisdom for the Working Landscape.

1. This is a visually fabulous coffee-table book about livestock, barns, trees, fields, vegetables, and farming implements. It's sort of a photographic companion to "Charlotte's Web." Rural life has never looked so gorgeous as it does in this book. There are no people in this countryside, no grime, and certainly no dead cars or junk in yards or on sagging porches. (Caution to carnivores: Once you have studied the beautiful and soulful farm animals and their young, you will not want to eat meat again.) Barns, birch trees, fences, snow -- everything is perfect. This is a strange book, one that idealizes the Northeast countryside so powerfully that it's a little strange, really. Best enjoyed by city slickers.

No comments about Montecito, California's Garden Paradise.

No comments about Lawns (Gardening & Landscaping).

2 comments about X-Urbanism: Architecture and the American City.

1. It is a rare moment when text and image collaborate to tell a story that could be told by neither alone. X-Urbanism is one of these moments. The dialog between the writing and drawings in this book is brilliant. The ultimate result of the conversation between the two is a nuanced understanding of the relationship that cities have with the subconscious of their inhabitants.



2. Both eloquently and clearly, X-Urbanism explores the historical and continuing development of the American City through the lens of an eye opening thesis: fantasy and desire have been pivotal factors in the shaping of Urban Space. As the author illustrates, the implications of this point of departure reach far beyond the conventional boundaries of urban studies to include a wealth of other disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, and popular culture. Through the course of this book, the affects of fantasy on the Renaissance City, the Baroque City, the Modern City, and the Post-modern City are charted. Without being dogmatic or judgmental, Mr. Gandelsonas frames the City as a simultaneous object and subject that is influenced by the desires of architects while also influencing its inhabitants with its own wishes.

   After reading the text and viewing the drawings that conclude this book it was as though I was walking around an object that until now I had only understood from a stationary position.

   This book is a must read for anyone who lives inside or outside of a city.

1 comments about The Lattice Gardener.

1. The late William C. Mulligan (1942-1995) offered one of the first and finest pictorial references on lattice that remains one of the finest examples in a narrow field. It provides guidance and inspiration for beginners and experienced garden artists.
   
   The examples are sophisticated and celebrated including, Rose Pavilion at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the brilliant pondside promenade of Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island, the majestic bench and wall installation at Het Loo, and even a Chinese pavilion to please chinoiserie lovers such as myself, called a t'ing.
   
   The book concludes with a plant directory replete with climate zone and light requirements, suggested cultivars as well as detailed planting tips. It is worth locating and securing a copy. 192 pages.

No comments about Great Gardens (Best of Fine Gardening).

No comments about Urban space: A brief history of the city square.