Civilizing American Cities: Writings On City Landscapes

I lived in New York for 40 years and, as an artist and photographer, spent many hours in Central Park. I have visited many of the great parks in Europe and Latin America, but none - none! are as well conceived, designed, people-oriented and beautiful as New York's Central Park. Olmsted's philosophy, human concerns, democratic ideals in designing parks, and his place in history (as the Industrial Revolution took hold, and working-class people moved into crowded cities), are all expressed in this book. I highly recommend the book to everyone who lives in a city or town anywhere; to people who play outdoor games, exercise, have children, love birds and squirrels and growing things! And the millions of people who love and have loved Central Park and Olmsted's other parklands across America.

This really should be a college textbook--not for the general reader (me) with several advanced degrees. What more can I say? I don't understand the system--why should I write more words?

Repetitive and pedantic rantings of an egotist. I cannot believe Montreal waited 3 years for his response to their interest in a park at Mont Royal.The photographs have been reproduced very poorly in this paperback edition. They are either blurry or too dark to see anything.

Used this book for some background reading on Olmsted, it was a good starting point, but by no means comprehensive.