Radical Landscapes: Reinventing Outdoor Space

Rating:
Summary: Gardens Illustrated Review
Review: From the Feb. 2002 issue of Gardens Illustrated magazine:
"...the book is a compelling and beautifully written discussion on contemporary landscape design. A book about any other field of design would probably not include the rather self-conscious word "radical" in the title, but its use here is indicative of the generally reactionary nature of most open space design... there are a few valient souls out there trying to change this state of affairs, and this book chronicles some of the best...Amidon writes, 'Among the creators of radical landscapes it is difficult to find common threads,' but her strategy is broadly successful in organizing this diverse selection of landscape designers and their work."

Rating:
Summary: Gardens Illustrated Review
Review: From the Feb. 2002 issue of Gardens Illustrated magazine:
"...the book is a compelling and beautifully written discussion on contemporary landscape design. A book about any other field of design would probably not include the rather self-conscious word "radical" in the title, but its use here is indicative of the generally reactionary nature of most open space design... there are a few valient souls out there trying to change this state of affairs, and this book chronicles some of the best...Amidon writes, 'Among the creators of radical landscapes it is difficult to find common threads,' but her strategy is broadly successful in organizing this diverse selection of landscape designers and their work."

Rating:
Summary: a hodge podge pictorial
Review: There is nothing 'radical' about any of the projects here. Nice they are, I'll give you that. But only nice. Nothing a professional in the field could not come up with. The picture quality is less than tops, and there are even teeny-weeny unreadable B&W photos that are attached to supposedly famous names. It kind of gives you the impression that the author was either running out of material to fill the book with or had too many friends who wanted a piece of the action.
If the only thing in common that is supposed to hold all the projects under one roof is that they are all 'radical', well, the author ought to choose another word, even if a more etymological meaning was intended by it (Radix, Latin, root).
I bought it at full retail price and feel I've been jipped, but at half the price, I suppose it's worth having...It's a CATALOGUE, basically.