1 comments about Sports Fields: A Manual for Design Construction and Maintenance.

1. As a lawn care business owner we are always looking for new learning opportunities. There is so much info on field maint. This is a great book. I think it was well worth the price.

2 comments about Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality.

1. This is one of those books that i treat myself to read, that is, I read just a few sections of each chapter to make it last longer. It is not only a book that captures one's attention, but moves one's spirit to greater depths. I am also intrigued by the scholarship and research that have gone into making this book a reality. I am looking forward to reading other works by Belden Lane.



2. If you've read Lane's "Solace of Fierce Landscapes" you'll want to read "Landscapes of the Sacred". "Landscapes" was actually written before "Solace," but has been recenly reprinted by John Hopkins Press with an expanded introduction. There's lots here for anyone interested in the cultural, religious, spiritual, and philosophical aspects of how we human beings experience place, especially those places that have sacred significance. The historical background on Puritans and Native AMerican spirituality are especially welcome.

2 comments about The City of To-morrow and Its Planning.

1. Le Corbusier has a dream for Paris, and it is a really interesting and unusual one. He creates a model for the cities, and his model has been living for almost a century. Although, you may reject to see it built, put aside living in it, it is a complete (well, almost complete) model. In this book, Le Corbusier presents his model city in detail from streets to building codes. He not only talks about the physical structure, but also the life style it would create. The mass of the city scares you, but you admire how he defends his vision, which is strong and bold, just like the book itself.



2. As an architecture student interested in the "art" of city planning, I found this book fascinating! Gives Le Corbusier's "radical" views and ideas plenty of substantive support. It is not only a book of design theory, but a book of urban history. Even if you're not too fond of Corbusier's work, this is a must-read for anyone interested in architecture!

4 comments about Golf Has Never Failed Me: The Lost Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross.

1. Although the only real written work Ross has left us, it is a wellspring of information regarding his thinking on good (and bad) course design. There are also comments regrading how the game was played in his day and a number of other informative and enlightening segments.
   
   The overall style of the book is a collection of short comments on concepts, courses, and techinques of course building. As such, it lacks the flair that we see in other books written by the same generation of architects to illustrait a greater story (as with, for example, Macdonald's Scotland's Gift). Even so, Ross' character comes out.
   
   In addition to the rare look we get at the thinking of a master course architect, there are also numerous photos and design sketches that bring into clear view what is being discussed.
   
   Lastly, for those hoping to hunt down a Ross course near you, there is an index of Donald Ross designed courses and clubs included.
   
   It should be kept in mind that this is a book for the architecture crowd. People looking to "shave off a few strokes" will need to look elsewhere. It is hoped, though, that this book will be available before the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst, as there will no doubt be an increased interest in Ross and his courses.



2. In the introduction to this book, Donald Ross's daughter says, ". . .he approached every new course with the idea that the golf player, champion or duffer, should complete his round challenged by the layout and enriched by the beauty of nature."

   In his career, Donald Ross designed more than 400 courses in the United States. His most famous is Pinehurst No. 2, considered one of the ultimate tests of tournament golf.

   This book was created from an old manuscript Mr. Ross wrote in 1914 that was never published, intended as a guide to future golf architects, supplemented with other published commentaries by and about Ross.

   Mr. Ross had an unusual background for a golf course architect. In a time when engineers usually designed and built the courses, he had served as the pro and greenskeeper at Dornoch in Scotland, after training at St. Andrews with Old Tom Morris and at Carnoustie. The lure of much higher income and the opportunity to build lots of golf courses drew him to the United States with his first job of rebuilding Oakley in Watertown, Massachusetts.

   Here are some of the ideas he shares in the book:

   "These are my standards to laying out a golf course.

   Make each hole a different problem.

   So arrange it that each stroke must be made with full concentration and attention necessary to good golf. Build each hole in such a manner that it wastes none of the ground at my disposal, and takes advantage of every possibility I see."

   A sandy loamy soal is best, with very little humus. This gives you better playing conditions and a longer season. Long Island and Cape Cod are best.

   Avoid clay soils because they are hard to drain. Unfortunately, most land around major cities is clay soiled. Favor fan-shaped and oblong tracts of land so that the clubhouse can be returned to with little wasted land after 9 holes.

   Start out with two or more easy holes.

   Favor par 4s unless people insist on par 5s. Par 4s make a better test, especially 425-450 yard ones.

   On par 5s, provide two paths to the green -- one for reaching in 2 and one for reaching in 3.

   "Select your putting green locations, if possible, to give desirable undulating surfaces."

   "Make all the short holes difficult."

   "The holes should be trapped so that par golf depends on skill rather than physical strength."

   "Bunkers should so be placed as to be clearly in view, and in such locations as to make all classes of golfers think."

   He recommends designing from the land, rather than on paper. He also suggests building the best few holes the land will allow, because golfers are attracted and retained by memories of great and challenging holes. He ends humbly with "I am not much of a writer. I find my thoughts run far ahead of my hand and figures when I sit down to write."

   There are about 60 pages in the book that will be valuable to architects and greenskeepers, but will not do much for golfers. You may choose to skip those.

   The book lists the known Donald Ross courses, and has many beautiful black and white photographs and illustrations.

   One of the pleasures of reading this book for me relates to having played on many Donald Ross courses, and belonging to a country club (Brae Burn in West Newton, Massachusetts) that has a Donald Ross course. The book features 3 photographs from our course (the 1st, 2nd, and 17th holes). I will certainly have many new thoughts whenever I play this course after reading this interesting book. To golf's pleasures, I can now add thinking about what the architect was trying to accomplish.

   I also came away with a greater appreciation for Donald Ross, because he was trying to make golf more challenging and less frustrating for the average club golfer like me. This made me want to play many more Donald Ross courses in the future. I hope you have that reaction, too.

   Use this book to help you pick courses that will improve your enjoyment of golf!

   What else do you enjoy doing where the designer or architect makes a difference to you?

   If you like this book, there is a new book out with color photographs of 18 of Mr. Ross's finest holes that you should see entitled: Golf as It Was Meant to Be Played which I also reviewed.




3. Donald Ross was the pivotal figure in the establishment of golf as a recreational sport in the U.S. His courses remain as challenging today as they were during his times.

   This book gives the reader insights into how to view a course with a critical eye. And after reading it, one can quickly identify the trademark features of a Ross design and perhaps score a little better on it.

   The book also provides a comprehensive listing of courses.

   --The man who is going to play every Donald Ross course.




4. This book is timeless. Written over fifty years ago the text and accompanying photos and sketches are well done. If you want to understand a Donald Ross Golf Course then you need to read this book.The photographs are from a time gone by - you can picture yourself there.

2 comments about The Art of Setting Stones: And Other Writings from the Japanese Garden.

1. The author made Kyoto his home after graduating from Cornell University's department of landscape architecture, first as a research fellow of Kyoto University, and later as a landscape architect and writer. He is currently adjunct professor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, and splits his time between lecturing and praticing landscape architecture from his offices in Ithaca, New York.
   
   The 8 essays desribe his intimate experience of the Japanese garden and shed light on both the cultural origins as well as the personal meanings he has derived from his years of study and contemplation.
   
   His unique perspective is informed by a deep understanding of the historical context of the gardens combined with an appreciation of the spiritual traditions that have defined their aesthetics.
   
   Each of the essays is introduced by a black clayboard illustration done by the author, adding a visual interpretation to his often deeply philisophical musings, making this book the most enjoyable writing I have found to date on the Japanese garden.



2. The Art of Setting Stones is a distillation of Mr. Keane's considerable knowledge and experience of Japanese gardens. Mr. Keane is a successful and sought-after landscape architect by profession, but his writings on Japanese gardens are scholarly yet accessible, informative yet enthralling. He consistently demonstrates a synthesis of profession and intellect, art and soul.

   I would caution the reader who seeks mere knowledge on Japanese gardens. For this, the reader is better served by Mr. Keane's other works, Japanese Garden Design and the tremendous translation of the eleventh-century manual, Sakuteiki. The Art of Setting Stones is a collection of loosely-related essays that expound the conceptual, spiritual and philosophical framework for creating gardens. The essays are reflective in nature, poetic in style, and deeply learned in content; they provide a patient reader with several evenings of delightful reading.

   The title of this collection, which comes from the Sakuteiki, provides a key to the genesis of Mr. Keane's essays: the act of creating a garden space is ancient and primordial, rooted in our relationship to the very land itself. One of the the terms that the Sakuteiki uses for the act of creating a garden is "ishi-wo tatsu" - literally, "to raise stones." Mr. Keane's insight comes from years of doing just that.

4 comments about Home Landscaping: Mid-Atlantic Region (Home Landscaping) (Home Landscaping).

1. This book was wonderful because it had lots of picture to draw ideas from. It also had information on different seasons and how the plants would be affected. It was so helpful to me.



2. This book is a wonderful resource. The book is full of design ideas shown in site plans, 3-D renderings, and with great close up photos of the flowers, scrubs, and trees. Many designs are shown in each season and in a progression of how it will look in three to five years and then in ten to fifteen years. I found this book to be very helpful in designing flower beds, in picking plantings, and in knowing how to care for each planting.



3. I'm not under 13, but I didn't want to give my name and email.

   This book is great. It takes advantage of some great underused native plants from the Mid Atlantic. It is very helpful because it provides plant spacing and maintenance. Most plants are low maintenance, all year interest.

   I have used the landscape plans in my yard and will continue to use this book as my number one reference.




4. I am new to gardening and I am have cleared out my backyard, I had no idea what I was doing or what kind of plants to put where until I read this book. It also has good ideas for building patios... great illustrations too!

No comments about Pamphlet Architecture 13: Edge of a City (Pamphlet Architecture).

1 comments about Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture).

1. This is a quite fine book on its topic, with some new things to say about a (dare I say it?) under-cultivated scholarly garden. The author rightly points out that most books on Islamic art and architecture basically stop when they hit the garden. This book could be interestingly matched up with one of the various histories of art and architecture (like the Yale volumes), as their complement. It is also interesting that the author challenges the standard view of the quadrature garden as being essentially the only pattern out there -- multiple patterns emerge. I particularly liked the discussion of the evolution of tombs and gardens together. The second half of the book is an invaluable selection of sites and site plans throughout the Islamic world.
   
   The book unavoidably carries with it the sadness evoked by the miserable fact that hardly any of the gardens he talks about survive in any fashion at all -- neglected, ignored, built over, redesigned. But we are talking gardens here, after all, so ephemeral comes with the terrain. But it is pretty grim, page after page of destruction.

3 comments about Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Vines (4th Edition).

1. Very complete and up to date information on Arboriculture. Chapters are well organized, highlighting what you need to know. Does a great job of covering the basics, but also gets into details and is fairly technical, without becoming unreadable. A must have reference book for the Landscaper.



2. Arboriculture is a science and art that is made up of many different contributing factors. This book does a very good job of covering them all. Any one of the chapters could be expanded into a book in itself. This thoroughly researched and written book is for the person who wants all of their information in one place. It is a textbook for the technically minded arborist, tree surgeon, tree farmer, or hobbyist. Don't look for this book to be entertaining or philosophical. Instead, buy this book for the knowledge held within. There is a lot to be learned from it. Every single page is filled with facts, figures, methods, and recommendations. You will find yourself reading every page a second or third time in order to catch it all. I refer back to this book on a regular basis, because there is no way I can remember it all. If you have any questions about the management of trees or shrubs, you will likely find it in this book.



3. Harris wrote the first edition of this book when trees were "trimmed" by the same people who patched asphalt and repaired park benches. It was a breath of rationality in a field that relied mostly on anecdotal information.

   The new edition reinforces this work as the compendium of current thinking about how to care for trees. Clark and Matheny build eloquently on Harris's solid foundation.

   The public participates actively in caring for trees and demands to know information found in this book. Why not plant the biggest caliper tree you can find? Can't you do something about the tree roots "breaking" up my sewer? Open the book and show them the brief but definitive answer that is easily found here.

   I wish more citizen tree advocates would read this book. For that matter, I wish more arborists would too.

1 comments about Corridor Ecology: The Science and Practice of Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation.

1. I highly recommend Corridor Ecology for anyone who is interested in corridors, land fragmentation, and species conservation. It is the most comprehensive literature I have come across in terms of the role of corridors, corridor design and implementation. As a current graduate student working on a corridor project, this book has been incredibly helpful in planning my field work in ground truthing Least-Cost path corridors. Especially the chapter, Corridor Quality: Continuity, Composition, and Dimension. It has really helped me understand better how to evaluate potential corridors. My advisor has been so impressed with the book that she is going to order some for the library and a biodiversity center that is being set up at campus. I also feel that this would be an excellent text for conservation courses as it covers issues such as metapopulation theory, edge effects and focal species considerations. The book also covers issues and potential problems that need to be dealt with when designing a corridor, which is very valuable. I also think this would be a excellent source for land management agencies and the Department of Transportation to utilize. The authors do an excellent job in bringing together all aspect of corridor ecology by utilizing the most current literature, valuable study cases along with their incredible field and research experience.
   
   Tanya Diamond
   M.S. Candidate
   San Jose State University