cover image Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History

Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History

Elizabeth Barlow Rogers. Multy, $75 (544pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-4253-0

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. ( Dec.)