From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-As with others in the series, this biography begins with an incident from the subject's early life, in this case Olmsted's first visit to Niagara Falls. After this somewhat fictionalized scene, Dunlap writes a fairly even and honest account of the first landscape architect in the U.S. Readers learn about the problems that Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had in raising money to build Central Park and their struggles with politicians and budget constraints to bring the project to fruition. The author shows that Olmsted ran into similar problems when he designed plans for protecting Yosemite from the same influx of commercialism that had ruined Niagara Falls. Very little of the subject's private life is included. A list of important parks is appended, as well as a good bibliography. There is no chronology. A number of black-and-white drawings depict events in Olmsted's life. Average fare.
Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
