Rating: 
Summary: a big life in a small book
Review: Witold Rybczynski has made Frederick Law Olmsted's life look a little easier than it must have been. This is largely caused by the laminar flow of Rybczynski's prose. We are swept through the 19th century so smoothly that even the Civil War seems like a mere rock in the stream. I have not read any of the author's other books, but his prose style here seemed to be imitating the sweeping lines in an Olmsted design. In terse introductory paragraphs the broader events of a given historical period are sketched out and then Olmsteds trajectory through them is presented in more, but not great, detail. The result of this approach is to make the reader feel both informed and curious to know more. As other reviewers have remarked and the author points out in his closing chapter, much is available. Olmsted was a pack rat who saved all his correspondence and his legacy was carried on into the middle 20th century by his son Rick, who only retired from practice in 1950.I grew up near New York City and always considered Central Park to be a wonderful place, even in its worst times through the 60s and 70s. I am lucky enough now to live in a city with three Olmsted-designed parks (they were initiated by the old man, but designed and built by his sons). Their maintenance has been spotty, but they are still beautiful places, and I do wonder if they still have the power to civilize.
Rating:
Summary: a big life in a small book
Review: Witold Rybczynski has made Frederick Law Olmsted's life look a little easier than it must have been. This is largely caused by the laminar flow of Rybczynski's prose. We are swept through the 19th century so smoothly that even the Civil War seems like a mere rock in the stream. I have not read any of the author's other books, but his prose style here seemed to be imitating the sweeping lines in an Olmsted design. In terse introductory paragraphs the broader events of a given historical period are sketched out and then Olmsteds trajectory through them is presented in more, but not great, detail. The result of this approach is to make the reader feel both informed and curious to know more. As other reviewers have remarked and the author points out in his closing chapter, much is available. Olmsted was a pack rat who saved all his correspondence and his legacy was carried on into the middle 20th century by his son Rick, who only retired from practice in 1950. I grew up near New York City and always considered Central Park to be a wonderful place, even in its worst times through the 60s and 70s. I am lucky enough now to live in a city with three Olmsted-designed parks (they were initiated by the old man, but designed and built by his sons). Their maintenance has been spotty, but they are still beautiful places, and I do wonder if they still have the power to civilize.
Rating:
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;
Rating:
Summary: The model of a biography
Review: Witold Rybczynski's A Clearing in the Distance is superb - the model of a biography. Rybcyznski's writing style is simple, straightforward, but always graceful. The book is a pleasure to read, and left me with the desire to see more of Olmstead's works, particularly Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I shall look upon places that I have often visited, such as NYC's Central Park and the National Zoo in Washington, DC, with new appreciation.
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