Here are 100 books that Central Park Trees and Landscapes fans have personally recommended if you like
Central Park Trees and Landscapes.
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I’ve been fascinated by the park for years, ever since I started visiting it daily to do shinrin-yoku, or Japanese “forest-bathing,” there. I wanted to learn everything about it through first-hand experiences, through guides on its flora and fauna, and through historical sources. The park is the heart of Manhattan, and I wanted to learn what makes it beat. After living, breathing, and studying the park for a good long while, the diary I had started taking on my experiences there eventually grew into a book-length poem about it. That book would never have happened without inspiration from and the information in the books on this list.
This book grounded my knowledge of the park in the lives that have interacted with it for the past 175 years.
Blackmar and Rosenzweig dig deep into the people behind the creation of the park—the businessmen who spearheaded the project; the immigrant and African-American property-owners displaced through eminent domain; the politicians and artists who worked together on its design; the German and Irish laborers who built it; the New Yorkers to whom Central Park has been a refuge; and the tourists to whom it is a marvel.
Those personal histories have stayed with me and become as much a part of the park for me as the flora and fauna.
This "exemplary social history" (Kirkus Reviews) is the first full-scale account of Central Park ever published. Elizabeth Blackmar and Roy Rosenzweig tell the story of Central Park's people-the merchants and landowners who launched the project; the immigrant and African-American residents who were displaced by the park; the politicians, gentlemen, and artists who disputed its design and operation; the German gardeners, Irish laborers, and Yankee engineers who built it; and the generations of New Yorkers for whom Central Park was their only backyard. In tracing the park's history, Blackmar and Rosenzweig give us the history of New York, and bring to…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I’ve been fascinated by the park for years, ever since I started visiting it daily to do shinrin-yoku, or Japanese “forest-bathing,” there. I wanted to learn everything about it through first-hand experiences, through guides on its flora and fauna, and through historical sources. The park is the heart of Manhattan, and I wanted to learn what makes it beat. After living, breathing, and studying the park for a good long while, the diary I had started taking on my experiences there eventually grew into a book-length poem about it. That book would never have happened without inspiration from and the information in the books on this list.
I was lucky to receive this book as a gift from a friend. Still, gorgeous as the photographs in it are, it is more than a coffee-table book.
I had known Sara Cedar Miller’s photography beforehand, but in this book, she distinguishes herself as a historian as well. I could only admire the depth of her knowledge about the original plan for the park and how deftly she fits the Victorian-era elements into it.
But the park I love is a living and ever-evolving museum of architecture and botany, and Miller is up as well on more recently added environments such as the Hallett Nature Sanctuary and Rhododendron Mile.
An authoritative visual survey of New York City's Central Park, with new photography and updated text
For more than 160 years, Central Park has been the centerpiece of New York City, with more than 42 million visits each year. In Seeing Central Park, Sara Cedar Miller takes readers through America's most popular and celebrated park, where natural and manmade features are interwoven into a spectacular work of art. Combining superb research and writing with breathtaking photographs, Seeing Central Park is not only a guide through every significant design feature but also a gorgeous gift book.
I’ve been fascinated by the park for years, ever since I started visiting it daily to do shinrin-yoku, or Japanese “forest-bathing,” there. I wanted to learn everything about it through first-hand experiences, through guides on its flora and fauna, and through historical sources. The park is the heart of Manhattan, and I wanted to learn what makes it beat. After living, breathing, and studying the park for a good long while, the diary I had started taking on my experiences there eventually grew into a book-length poem about it. That book would never have happened without inspiration from and the information in the books on this list.
This book taught me to think of Central Park not just as a greenspace but as a gallery of art.
When I had finished it, I had come to fully admire the many statues that stand in bronze amid the groves and lawns.
I love that Eding covers, in great detail, not just the more famous sculptures such as the Alice in Wonderland and Balto statues, but also less appreciated pieces like the Daniel Webster Monument. I also love that I got to learn not just the what of the statues, but the why behind them.
The background information in this book added a whole new layer to my admiration for the fine art in Central Park.
The Statues of Central Park is the extraordinary photographic tribute to one of the world's most popular recreational destinations and public spaces: New York City's Central Park.
The most visited urban park in the United States, with 42 million visitors annually, Central Park is of the most famous sightseeing spots in New York, in no small part due to its collection of sculptures and monuments erected throughout the park. The Statues of Central Park highlights these sculptures and monuments in one spectacular photography collection, complete with short descriptions detailing the interesting histories of these public art pieces.
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.
Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…
I’ve been fascinated by the park for years, ever since I started visiting it daily to do shinrin-yoku, or Japanese “forest-bathing,” there. I wanted to learn everything about it through first-hand experiences, through guides on its flora and fauna, and through historical sources. The park is the heart of Manhattan, and I wanted to learn what makes it beat. After living, breathing, and studying the park for a good long while, the diary I had started taking on my experiences there eventually grew into a book-length poem about it. That book would never have happened without inspiration from and the information in the books on this list.
I wanted to see what the park was planned to be in order to compare its original design with what it has become.
Brenwall gave me all of that preliminary background information in great detail, not just with her historical commentary but through the nineteenth-century maps and designs she shares. I took great pleasure in comparing Frederick Olmstead’s winning design with the many other possible layouts the park could have had.
What’s more, the book itself is beautiful. Urban planning has never looked so good.
Drawing on the unparalleled collection of original designs for Central Park in the New York City Municipal Archives, Cynthia S. Brenwall tells the story of the creation of New York's great public park, from its conception to its completion. This treasure trove of material ranges from the original winning competition entry; to meticulously detailed maps; to plans and elevations of buildings, some built, some unbuilt; to elegant designs for all kinds of fixtures needed in a world of gaslight and horses; to intricate engineering drawings of infrastructure elements. Much of it has never been published before. A virtual time machine…
I am the author of over fifty books for young readers including the Zapato Power series, the Sofia Martinez series, My Name is Hamburger, Never Say a Mean Word Again, and Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence. On September 11, 2001, I was living in Arlington, Virginia and working as a librarian. Like anyone else who lived through that tragic day, September 11th evokes strong memories for me. Yet I know that subsequent generations have little knowledge of that day, even those who live in Arlington, where the Pentagon is located. By recognizing the wounds of the past, we can help young readers understand the present.
The September 11th terrorist attack is a difficult history to introduce.
Picture books can be a good way to start the conversation, especially with 8 and 9-year-olds. In This Very Tree, Sean Rubin broaches the topic through a remarkable Callery pear tree in the Twin Towers plaza which survived the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Rubin’s poignant artwork conveys both the destruction of that terrible day in New York City and the rebuilding efforts afterwards. Informative and lengthy back matter provides more information to complement the brief illustrated text. This picture book leaves the reader with an ultimately hopeful outlook of resilience and renewal.
A deeply moving story about community and resilience, from the point-of-view of the Callery pear tree that survived the attacks on September 11, from Eisner Award-nominated author-illustrator Sean Rubin.
* "A resonant, beautifully rendered testament to life and renewal." ―Kirkus, starred review
In the 1970s, nestled between the newly completed Twin Towers in New York City, a Callery pear tree was planted. Over the years, the tree provided shade for people looking for a place to rest and a home for birds, along with the first blooms of spring.
On September 11, 2001, everything changed. The tree’s home was destroyed,…
As a child I was drawn to the forest by its aesthetics. I felt as if I were wandering through a masterpiece painting. As I grew older, I wanted to know more about the many working parts of nature. I quickly learned this: If I wanted to know nature intimately, I needed to know what the Native Americans knew. After years of study and honing skills, I undertook seasonal, self-imposed “survival trips” in remote areas of the National Forest. As an adult I served as a naturalist for the Georgia Conservancy, wilderness director for High Meadows Camp, and as director of my own wilderness school – Medicine Bow – in the Appalachian Mountains.
Because Mr. Newcomb’s book (above) covers only herbs, shrubs, and vines, the survival student needs a good tree identifier (field guide) to cover “the standing people.” (The Cherokee name for “trees.”) Because I live in Georgia, this book serves me well. If you live outside of the Southeast, you’ll want to find a book germane to your area. Trees of Georgia contains good photographs of leaves, bark, flowers, buds, and fruits of over 200 species.
This field guide identifies 205 species and varieties, with plant descriptions that highlight differences between similar taxa. It also includes range maps and botanical keys for summer and winter.
Homeless following the death of his adoptive parents in a car crash and the subsequent loss of their farm tenancy, Seb decides to enrol as a residential student at the Asklepios Foundation, a College of Natural Medicine, boasting a sanctuary modelled on an ancient Greek healing temple. Spending a night…
As a gardening instructor and designer, I've been recommending these five books for years. They were the core texts of the Fundamentals of Gardening course I've been teaching at the New York Botanical Garden for over a decade. Since the publication of The New Gardener’s Handbook, which covers all these topics in a more abbreviated way, I still recommend these five books to my students if they want to dig deeper. These books are what I call “keeper texts.” I own fewer and fewer actual gardening books these days, but it's a fact that a copy of each of these excellent resources resides on my office bookshelf where I refer to them frequently.
This book perfectly demystifies the art of pruning trees and shrubs for even the most apprehensive gardener. Turnbull’s conversational style and matter-of-fact presentation of all you need to know to do it right and not wreck your plants, has been a fan favorite for years. I recommend it to my gardening students that may find the Brown/Kirkham pruning book a bit on the dry side. Cass makes pruning sound fun, and important, blending her horticultural knowledge and skill with a keen political sensibility that stresses the ethics of doing things the right way for the health and well-being of your plants.
This 3rd Edition of Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning covers more than twenty additional plants in three new chapters. The result is the new definitive guide for the home gardener with friendly, expert advice from Cass Turnbull, founder of Seattle's PlantAmnesty, whose mission is "to end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs caused by mal-pruning." Nothing about pruning is obvious. In fact, most of it is downright counterintuitive. People try to prune plants like they cut lumber or hair. But that doesn't work to get what they want. Your plants are actually telling you how they want…
I’m a children’s book author, illustrator, and map illustrator, as well as an armchair traveler and history buff. I adore books that explain how the world works through the ideas and inventions of curious human beings, narratives of travel and change, and how past and present history are connected. Nonfiction picture books are a fantastic way to distill these true stories for readers of allages!
Someone once referred to Central Park as the “lungs” of New York City. When the grid plan for the streets of Manhattan was designed it left little room for greenspace. Human beings need nature, and respite from the crowds, so a contest was held to design a park. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted came up with the winning idea. This lushly illustrated book tells the story of how their Greensward Plan became Central Park— the first landscaped public park in the United States. I love to think about how the two designed the placement of every tree, bridge, and curved path, with the goal of making a place where allthe people in the city could enjoy nature— and still do, today!
In 1858, New York City was growing so fast that new roads and tall buildings threatened to swallow up the remaining open space. The people needed a green place to be - a park with ponds to row on and paths for wandering through trees and over bridges. When a citywide contest solicited plans for creating a park out of barren swampland, Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted put their heads together to create the winning design, and the hard work of making their plans a reality began.
By winter, the lake opened for skating. By the next summer, the…
I strive to help children not only accept but also celebrate their own uniqueness. For a long time, we were told that same-sex relationships and gender non-conformity were not natural because they don’t occur in animals. When I began to research same-sex behavior in animals, I learned this couldn’t be further from the truth. Same-sex behaviors have been found in almost every species that has been extensively studied. I knew I could create a fun, gentle, child-friendly introduction to these concepts that challenges the notion that LGBTQ+ behaviors are unnatural.
I have a Master's in biology with a focus on conservation through storytelling.
I grew up in NJ, so I visited the Central Park Zoo as a child.
I still remember when I first learned about Silo and Roy adopting Tango. Who knew such a sweet story would turn into one of the most banned books of the last two decades?
I still get teary-eyed when reading this heart-warming story. I’ve been hoping for years that they would create a follow-up story about Tango, who grew up and cared for an egg with another female penguin!
I suspect that this book has inspired the many zookeepers around the world who now give other same-sex penguin couples a chance to adopt eggs.
One of the six political books for kids you should definitely read according to Zoe Williams in the Guardian, November 2018!
Roy and Silo are just like the other penguin couples at the zoo - they bow to each other, walk together and swim together. But Roy and Silo are a little bit different - they're both boys.
Then, one day, when Mr Gramzay the zookeeper finds them trying to hatch a stone, he realises that it may be time for Roy and Silo to become parents for real.
Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS
by
Amy Carney,
When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…
I started my academic life with two passions: listening to those I was researching and writing in ways that were accessible to all readers. I wasn’t willing to bow down to orthodoxies that would stifle my capacity to think and to write and make my way into new and emergent ideas and practices. Questions of ethics threaded their way through it all, not the kind of rule-based nonsense of university ethics committees, but ethics that enabled me to consider how matter matters and to re-think what we are in relation to each other and to the Earth.
I discovered Wohlleben’s book when I was writing about my own emergent relationship with trees. I was learning to think with quantum field theory and new materialism, and very conscious of the way some of my writing was sounding like I was teetering on the edge of madness.
Wohlleben offered me insights into my own relations with trees, and he enabled me to articulate not only my love of trees but the Earth’s dependence on them as they grow together in old-growth forests. At the same time, Wohlleben makes horribly clear the motivation of politicians globally to destroy old-growth forests out of their own ignorance and greed, intensified by the loggers who lie to them and hide the truth from them.
"Another love letter from Wohlleben to the green world... makes the case for how we should allow forests throughout the world to regrow and in the process help heal not only the climate but us, as well."-Lydia Millet, Oprah Daily
An illuminating manifesto on ancient forests: how they adapt to climate change by passing their wisdom through generations, and why our future lies in protecting them.
In his beloved book The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben revealed astonishing discoveries about the social networks of trees and how they communicate. Now, in The Power of Trees, he turns to their…
