A Clearing in the Distance

Rybczynski is as always wonderful at spinning design in to a narrative. I love that about him. The early part of the story, when FLO is a young man searching for himself, is a little slow going, which is odd because he does amazing things like sail to China and explore “wild” southern and western parts of America. Once we get in to more of the landscape work, however, the spinning of design in to narrative kicks in. I also found it fascinating how Olmsted's life intersected with so many other fascinating and famous figures of his time.